"The death toll from the cyclone in Orissa has now gone up from 17 to 21. The deaths are mostly due to falling walls and tree branches," Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, the state's special relief commissioner, told AFP by phone. One person was also killed in Andhra Pradesh, officials have said.
Choudhary from the Red Cross said 3,000 volunteers were distributing tents and other assistance to those left homeless, many of them poor farmers and fishermen, while the state government announced food assistance packages for affected families.
"Two lakh (200,000) houses have been damaged in Ganjam district alone in Orissa...these are mostly mud houses with thatched roofs," said Tripti Paule a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority.
"The people living there are in shelters, we have the supplies and equipment ready to rebuild and will repair them once the rain stops, so people can return to their homes," Paule said.
Although the cyclone has dissipated, heavy rain was falling in parts of Orissa and other states, raising fears of flooding.
Meanwhile, the coastguard on Monday rescued 18 sailors - 17 Chinese and an Indonesian - who had been drifting on a lifeboat since their cargo ship sank in the Bay of Bengal during the cyclone.
"The crew abandoned the ship and set out in a lifeboat after their vessel began sinking in the rough seas," coastguard Commandant Rajendra Nath told AFP from the city of Kolkata.
The lifeboat carrying the crew from MV Bingo was finally spotted overnight, drifting upstream in a river that runs into the bay near Orissa's Balasore city, said Nath, who led the operation.
In another remarkable story of survival, 18 fishermen trapped offshore in rough seas abandoned their trawler as the cyclone approached, Nath said.
The fishermen swam to shore and were discovered on Sunday before being taken to a local hospital near the port of Paradip in Orissa.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
