Cyclone Phailin, the most powerful storm to hit India in over a decade, lashed India’s eastern states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on October 12, 2013. With winds reaching 140 mph, the Category 4 cyclone displaced hundreds of thousands in Odisha and caused major floods, killing at least 43. None of Jehovah’s Witnesses in these areas were reported as killed or injured. Before Cyclone Phailin reached the coast, the India branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses organized a relief committee to help evacuate some 70 Witnesses from the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh. Those displaced are being cared for in the homes of fellow Witnesses.

Media Contact(s):

International: J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5000

India: Tobias Dias, tel. +91 9845476425