Rescue workers in the Indian state of Orissa, which was devastated by the powerful cyclone that slammed into India on October 29th 1999 , are confronting flooding, food riots and the threat of epidemics.

Officials in Orissa fear that 5,000 people or more are dead. The storm left 1.5 million homeless.

Starving and homeless survivors of one of India's worst cyclones drank from filthy floodwaters and scrambled for food packets dropped from helicopters.

Copyright: RAI/MAGNUM