Cyclone Cleopatra Kills 17 In Sardinia

Cyclone Cleopatra roared into the Italian island of Sardinia killing at least 17 people and leaving dozens missing.

The storm’s heavy rains led to flash flooding and many rivers to overflow their banks. The flooding destroyed several bridges and swept away cars and homes.

A mother and daughter died when they car was swept away in the flash flooding. A family of three died when a bridge collapsed onto their car.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta has declared a state of emergency for the island, calling the situation a “national tragedy.” He said that $27 million would be immediately allocated to emergency relief efforts and that soldiers are being sent to the island for search and rescue operations.

Reports say the flash flooding reached 10 feet high at times. The mayor of the told of Olbia told the BBC the storm was “apocalyptic.”

Officials say that citizens of the island are coming together. Many residents with homes left undamaged by the storm are using social media to contact those who have lost homes and are inviting them in for meals and shelter.

Category Five Cyclone Bearing Down On India

India has evacuated over 200,000 people from the western coastline as a massive cyclone roars through the Bay of Bengal.

Cyclone Phailin is predicted to make landfall Saturday morning in Orissa state.

The storm has been classified as category 5 by the London-based Tropical Storm Risk center and the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center has predicted winds from the superstorm could reach 195 mph when it hits land.  Storm surges will be at least 10 feet and likely much higher.

“The storm has high damage potential considering windspeed,” the director of the India Meteorological Department told the BBC.  More concerning to the meteorologists watching the storm is the wide area the storm is covering in the ocean.

A super-cyclone similar to Phailin killed 10,000 people in Orissa state in 1999.