Cyclone Fani 450 km from Odisha, 8 lakh people evacuated
Cyclone Fani, which turned into "extreme severe cyclonic storm", is expected to hit Odisha's coastal areas by Friday. According to a recent tweet of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Fani is about 450 km away from the state. It is likely to move north-northeastwards and cross Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali. Nearly 8 lakh people are being evacuated. Here are more details.
These are the districts which could be affected
Cyclone Fani, whose name was suggested by Bangladesh, could hit areas in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, and Jagatsinghpur districts. At the time of landfall, its intensity will be 170-180 gusting to 200. A storm surge of about 1.5-meter height above astronomical tide is likely, IMD said. IMD warned kuccha houses, crops, plantations, orchards, will be severely damaged. Transportation will also be affected.
Over 100 trains have been canceled
As a precautionary measure, Indian Railways has canceled 103 trains, which is likely to affect 19 districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. Some of the trains which have been canceled are Howrah-Chennai Central Coromandal Express, Patna-Eranakulam Express, New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express, Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express. Railways have promised to give a complete refund to passengers.
Nearly 8 lakh being evacuated, school, colleges shut
Authorities are on their toes to deal with the impending disaster. People are being evacuated from Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati, Ganjam, Khordha, Cuttack and Jajpur. Around 900 cyclone shelters have been readied for evacuated people. All schools and colleges will remain shut for the next three days. Fishermen have been advised to not venture into sea till May 5.
Indian Navy will be helping in dealing with Cyclone Fani
Defense forces and disaster relief teams are on a high alert. Centre had sanctioned Rs. 1,086 crore as advance financial assistance to four states and Odisha received more than Rs. 300 crore. Indian Navy tweeted that its ships Sahyadri, Ranvir, and Kadmatt, stocked with food, medicines, and clothes, will be following the storm. Nandankanan zoo will remain shut till May 4, authorities said.
Naveen Patnaik urged people to remain calm
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked people to not panic and assured that the government is prepared. "Every life is precious for us...Have patience and cooperate," Patnaik said. The state was hit by the worst-ever cyclone in 1999 when nearly 8,000 people died. Last year, Odisha was battered due to Cyclone Titli in which 2 people died. Over 3,00,000 were safely evacuated.
