Another cyclone slams India

Cyclone Nisarga brought heavy rainfall and winds up to 75 mph as it made landfall near the western coastal city of Alibag, India, on Wednesday. The storm ripped up beachside shanties and brought with it high winds 60 miles inland in the country’s financial hub, Mumbai, which is home to more than 18 million people. Authorities reported no deaths or injuries. The cyclone is the strongest to hit Mumbai since 1948.

How has the country responded? Officials struggled to prepare for the storm in Maharashtra, which has recorded more coronavirus cases than any other state. Response teams evacuated about 100,000 people from low-lying areas in Maharashtra and neighboring Gujarat ahead of the storm. Authorities also relocated about 10,000 Mumbai residents, along with some 200 coronavirus patients from a field hospital. Two weeks ago, Cyclone Amphan devastated eastern India and parts of Bangladesh, killing more than 100 people.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report on how Cyclone Amphan affected the COVID-19 response in India and Bangladesh.