Cyclone Fani, a severe cyclonic storm, made landfall impact on Friday, May 3, 2019, around 8.00 a.m. south of Puri on the Odisha coast. Most of the low lying areas have been flooded due to the heavy rains that lashed the coastal town. The Odisha government on Thursday evacuated over 11 lakh people from low-lying areas in 15 districts.
Check out the video that shows the fury of Fani here:
Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri around 8 am with heavy rainfall and winds with the speed of 175 kmph that could reach up to 180/200 kmph in some places. The storm will continue lashing the coastal region of Odisha for the next few hours. Several trees were uprooted and thatched structures destroyed at some places including Bhubaneswar.
People from the area of Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Naygarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore Mayurbhanj, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar have been evacuated as this area is expected to be badly impacted by the storm. After crossing Odisha, cyclone Fani is likely to move towards West Bengal before tapering off.
All flights from Bhubaneswar have been canceled from midnight. A total of 140 trains including 83 passenger trains have been canceled so far. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and disaster management agencies are fully prepared.
Cyclone Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which claimed left nearly 10,000 dead and devastated Odisha.
Also Read: Cyclone Fani: Odisha on high alert; ‘yellow warning’ issued by Indian Meteorological Department