Cyclone Fani Live: Hits Odisha, Trees Uprooted, Wind Speed at 200 Km/Hour; Safety Measures by Government

Cyclone Fani is considered to be the most severe storm, since the super cyclone of 1999 that killed 10,000 people in Odisha. It has now started making its impact felt in the state, said the weather office. The impact of the landfall may continue till around 11 am and after that, Fani is expected to move north-westwards and gradually weaken as it reaches West Bengal by early tomorrow morning.  

Steps by Odisha Government: 

• The Odisha government has evacuated more than 11 lakh people from the coastal areas to camps on higher grounds in the last 24 hours. 

• The Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and disaster management agencies are on stand-by. The Indian navy has prepared with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material like food, tents, clothes, medicines and blankets. Coast guard has tied up with NDRF and state administration to give immediate relief in aftermath of Cyclone Fani.

• PM Narendra Modi also reviewed preparedness for Cyclone Faniwith his senior-most officials on Thursday. 

• Odisha government moved more than 11 lakh people, out of which 542 pregnant women are present. They have been put to safety in the last 24 hours.

• Government advised the public to remain indoor today. More than 3 lakh people have been evacuated from Ganjamdistrict alone and 1.3 lakh from Puri. Around 5,000 kitchens are operating to serve people in shelters. 

• The home ministry has set up a control room for anyone who needs assistance or updates on Cyclone Fanican call on the helpline number 1938. 

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is closely monitoring the situation. 

Effect on Flights & Trains: 

It is to be noted that all flights from Bhubaneswar have been cancelled from midnight, Kolkata airport will be shut between 9.30 pm on Friday till 6 pm on Saturday. Over 200 flights from Kolkata will be cancelled. 

The East Coast Railway has cancelled more than 147 trains till tomorrow. Three special trains were run from Puri to Howrah and Shalimar in West Bengal yesterday to help in the evacuation of tourists. 

Forecasters have said a storm surge of about five feet could hit low-lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. Three more districts of Mayurbhanj, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar are likely to be badly impacted.

Gopalpur, Puri, Bhubaneswar, Paradip, Chandbali, Balasore, Kalingapatnam saw strong winds and received heavy rain overnight. However, Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh also received heavy rain. 

Cyclone Fani will also impact Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In West Bengal, it will affect East and West Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram districts and state capital Kolkata. In Andhra Pradesh, it will impact three districts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagram and Visakhapatnam. 

The electricity department in coastal Andhra Pradesh asked people to stay alert to avoid accidents. 12,000 poles, 50 cranes, 40 pole drilling machines, 40 generators, 70 power saws, 2,000 transformers and other equipment were sent to the areas which are likely to be affected.