The latest press release of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) brought huge relief to people in Odisha, who were in a state of panic to greet Cyclone Hudhud. The cyclonic storm, which is now stationed around 720 km from Gopalpur in Ganjam district, may spare Odisha and instead cause havoc in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Although the South Odisha districts such as Ganjam, Gajapati and Koraput will witness heavy rains from October 11 afternoon, there won’t be any heavy damage like last year’s Phailin impact. Wind speed of 80-90km per hour is expected in Gopalpur and parts of Ganjam district.

The cyclone will hit Visakhapatnam on October 12 with a maximum wind speed of up to 155 km per hour. The IMD release said, “The wind speed of Phailin was 210-220 kilometres an hour. Hudhud is expected to have a wind speed of 130-140 kilometres an hour. This would be less intense, but we are still keeping a close watch.”

According to IMD, the maximum damage could occur in East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. The north coastal Odisha may expect some rainfalls, but that won’t be heavier.