The situation, as predicted by, it seems, very few people, has worsened in the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Sidr is heading straight north, expected to strike land east of Calcutta, on the coast of Bangledesh, in several hours from now. This is a low-lying area that will undoubtedly be flooded very badly.
This may be the worst case scenario for hurricanes on this planet.
The storm is moving slowly, thus picking up considerable energy over very warm water. I think the water it has yet to cross is even warmer. Gusts are now way over category 5 strength. Form the joint hurricane prediction center:
at 141800z, tropical cyclone 06b (sidr) was located near 16.6n 89.3e, approximately 360 nm south of Calcutta, India, and had tracked northward at 09 knots over the past six hours. Maximum sustained surface winds were estimated at 130 knots gusting to 160 knots. See ref a (wtio31 pgtw 142100) for further details.
Those are knots, not miles per hour. 160 knts is over 180 miles per hour. You get tornadoes in that range.
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