Cyclone the Size of Katrina Strikes India

Bearing 125 mph winds, Cyclone Phailin made landfall along India's eastern coast on Saturday evening. Though hundreds of thousands were evacuated from the area, some are questioning whether the Indian authorities took the storm too lightly.

October 12, 2013, 11am PDT | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj

"A cyclone that may be among the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal bore down on the eastern coast of India on Saturday with heavy rains and high winds," reports Gardiner Harris. The storm, which was similar in size and power to the devastating Hurricanes Katrina and Andrew, caused "apocalyptic devastation in Brahmapur, just inland from where the cyclone reached the coast," reported the BBC's Andrew North.

"The Indian predictions before the storm made landfall were less alarming than those from meteorological authorities in the United States," adds Harris. "American meteorological authorities have appeared on Indian TV channels and have almost universally sounded more concerned about the coming storm than their Indian counterparts."

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With Mass Evacuations, India Braces as Powerful Cyclone Heads for Coast

Published on Saturday, October 12, 2013 in The New York Times