Worst storm since 1999; more than 11 lakh evacuated

Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha’s Puri at around 9 am today and the storm with rain is expected to continue for the next three hours.

Cyclone Fani has been categorised as an extremely severe cyclonic storm by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

The area around Puri is recording wind speeds of around 170 kilometers per hour. Officials have been claiming that Fani could be the worst storm since 1999 Super Cyclone that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

With the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani expected to cross the Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri town, this morning, the State Government yesterday evacuated over 11 lakh people from low-lying areas in 15 districts.

Fani likely to weaken

Meanwhile, Indian Coast Guards and 13 Navy aircraft are at standby in Vishakhapatnam to carry out damage assessment and relief distribution process. The IMD in a tweet said, the extremely severe cyclonic storm “Fani” is very likely to move North and North-eastwards and weaken during the next six hours.

Trains, airports shut

The trains and airports have been shut in Odisha. In Bhubaneswar the trains coming from Puri and Andhra Pradesh have been stopped, trains going towards New Delhi and Mumbai have also been stopped. Reportedly, the Bhubaneswar Airport has been shut since Thursday night.  Schools have been closed, fisherman have been asked to keep off the water and tourists have been urged to leave the city of Puri.

As many as 25 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) along with State Fire Service personnel have been deployed in the coastal districts. Defence forces were on high alert to meet any eventuality.

Apart from Odisha, several North Indian States including Bihar is experiencing intermittent rains and gusty winds.

Trees uprooted, six killed

The Odisha capital Bhubaneswar also experienced the impact of the cyclone, with several trees uprooted in the city.  A woman died while being shifted to a cyclone shelter in Debendranarayanpur, a seaside village in Kendrapara district in Odisha. Vehicular movement to the coastal town of Puri was disrupted due to uprooting of roadside trees. Five others are reported to have been killed so far.

The State Government of Odisha tweeted that more than one million people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas across the State. It also stated that about 5,000 kitchens started operating to serve people in the shelters.