FOR RELEASE WITH STORY BC-WEATHER-INDIA-CYCLONE, 2000-10-25 (photo)

A fisherman stands near his damaged boat in front of the forest that was also destroyed by last year's super cyclone at a fishing village of Nolliasahi eastern India on October 25, 2000. There used to be a forest on the beach beside Noliasahi, a plantation so dense that the fishermen of the village were scared to venture in there alone at night. It was wiped out in one brutal sweep of nature's hand. Leafless branches of the scattered trees that withstood the onslaught now point to the sky like arms stretched out in terror and supplication. By the time the storm had spent its fury more than 48 hours later, 8,495 people were dead, some 13 million homeless. PK/CC