As we had feared in our earlier article (as the storm was approaching), Tropical Cyclone Hudhud has left a trail of devastation in Visakhapatnam, the Ground Zero.
There is a reason why statues have been toppled, cars hung from trees, and Vizag airport looks like a war zone. Contrary to what the IMD (And the Indian media) said the winds at landfall, at 11:30 AM on Black Sunday were not 180-190 Kph, but 215 Kph. The site of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) records the wind speed at 115 knots (About 213 Kph) at the time of landfall.
The Indian Navy had recorded wind speed at 200 Kph.
Some Indian media sites have patted IMD on the back and patted themselves on the back ("We Indians have got smarter") for the accurate prediction. (180-195Kph)
The JTWC (and our site) had repeatedly warned of winds of 200+ Kph (Gusting up to 250 Kph).
I guess the xenophobic "Us better than them" mentality persists in many Indian minds.
We do appreciate (In fact, Kudos) the constant updates the IMD was giving out prior to landfall of the storm, but in the end, the difference of an extra of 35 Kph made a lot of difference.
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