Cyclone Hudhud continues to intensify, and should make landfall on the east coast of India tomorrow as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir Simpson scale. Here is the wind swath forecast using my TARU model and the JTWC forecast:
Storm surges are forecast to be over 4 meters (14ft), and due to a shift southward in the forecast track are now expected to peak at the coast in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam:
With the track shift and intensification, my Istanu model forecast impact has increased, now expected to be over $5 Billion USD. Given the differences in GDP and economies, that is the equivalent of about a $20 or $25 Billion dollar storm hitting the US (equivalent to something like Hurricane Ivan, that hit Florida in 2004). As with most storms, unfortunately the impacts are greatest on those at the lowest end of the income scale.