India, Sri Lanka Cyclone Death Toll Rises to 26

Colombo (Sri Lanka) – At least 26 people have died and thousands have been evacuated as Cyclone Ockhi hit southwestern India.

Scores took to relief camps in Sri Lanka and southern India on Saturday to escape rising floodwaters.

Cyclone Ockhi has left 13 people dead in Sri Lanka and killed an equal number in India’s Kerala and Tamil Nadu states.

Eleven people, mostly fishermen, remained missing in the two countries.

Authorities including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India’s Coast Guard and Navy have rescued around 223 fishermen and evacuated thousands of people from cyclone hit areas, officials said.

India’s eastern coast – including major cities like Chennai and Bhubaneswar – are prone to storms that wreak immense damage between April and December.

In 1999, more than 8,000 people were killed when a cyclone battered the eastern state of Orissa.