According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud that crossed the north Andhra coast near Visakhapatnam between 12 noon and 1 pm on Sunday had a wind speed of 150-160 kmph, gusting to 175 kmph.
The IMD had initially estimated that the Hudhud wind power would reach a maximum of 155 kmph but had revised it to 195 kmph on Saturday night.
like in the case of Cyclone Phailin, the estimates of several top international weather sites about the actual power of Hudhud have been proved incorrect and somewhat exaggerated. Most of these sites had predicted a wind speed of 190 kmph to 230 kmph at the time of the Hudhud’s land fall.
The IMD has proved yet again that it is the most trustworthy source of information, estimation and prediction when it comes to Indian tropical ocean storms. Apart from the accuracy in predictions, the IMD centres in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh kept Government agencies, media and people informed through its regular updates, alerts and SMSs.