THE death toll from a cyclone that hit India's east coast last week has risen to 41, as authorities struggle to restore power, transport and communication links and shelter 150,000 people forced to abandon their homes.
Cyclone Hudhud slammed into the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states, tearing down tens of thousands of mud-and-thatch homes, and flattening rice, banana and sugarcane plantations.
“Electricity has been restored in about 60 per cent of the affected area. In next three-four days we expect to restore it in all places,” AR Sukumar, chief of the disaster management department of Andhra Pradesh state, told reporters on Saturday (October 18).
While the death toll jumped to 38 in Andhra Pradesh, officials in Odisha said the number of people who had died there was unchanged at three.
The tail end of Hudhud went on to cause sudden and severe snowstorms further north in Nepal, killing at least 30 people on the Annapurna circuit, a Himalayan trek that is popular with foreign adventure tourists.
