Tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean has been anything but active this season, but that's not the case overseas in the Bay of Bengal. Tropical Cyclone Phailin made landfall earlier Saturday around noon our time (about 9:30 to 10pm India time) near Gopalpur, Odisha in India. (By the way, a "tropical cyclone" is the equivalent of a hurricane in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean).
Phailin is being compared to Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in southern Louisiana back on August 29th 2005, killing upwards of 1,200 people. Meteorology departments in India estimate winds of at least 120 to 130mph (with higher gusts), the equivalent to a high end Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic. There have been reports of 15ft to 20ft storm surge. Due to the size, the powerful cyclone is expected to affect more than 12 million people in India. If there is any good news in this situation, it's that the storm is now over land and is weakening, since it is no longer getting energy from the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal. Flash flooding is expected to be a huge problem in the country.
For more on the storm, including video, click here.
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