Direct Relief is in contact with health care partners on the ground in the region of India affected by Tropical Cyclone Hudhud and stands ready to provide support based on the needs assessments conducted in the next 48 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Hudhud made landfall on Sunday near the eastern Indian city of Visakhapatnam (Vizag) – home to two million people. Gale force winds reaching speeds of more than 120 mph, torrential rain and waves along the coast have created widespread damage to infrastructure, cutting communication and power lines, and access via road, rail and air to some coastal districts.

Eight people have been reported dead and thousands more are at risk of flooding

K Hymavathi, AP special commissioner for disaster management, reported: “The situation in Vizag is very serious. Telecommunications have been completely disrupted, impacting even our control room.”

The immediate humanitarian impact of Tropical Cyclone Hudhud has been reduced by the disaster preparation activities conducted in the days leading up to the typhoon making landfall. Most important among these disaster preparation activities was the evacuation of some 150,000 residents living in high risk areas along the coast.

The typhoon is expected to reduce in intensity to a tropical depression by Tuesday as it heads inland.

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