A powerful cyclone has slammed into India’s eastern coastline bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 125mph. Cyclone Fani is one of the more severe storms to hit region in recent years, it hit India at 08:00 on April 03, 2019.
More than a million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa also called Odisha. A state official said two people had been killed. Flooding has also been reported in many areas and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m could threaten low-lying homes.
A number of flights and train services in and out of the states have been cancelled whilst schools and government offices are shut. Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The country’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.
“We have taken full precautions and my government is fully prepared to deal with the situation,” Odisha’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, told the Guardian. “I have learned of the casualties and am instructing officers to find out the reasons behind them.”
Indian meteorological officials had categorised Friday’s storm as “extremely severe” when it reached Odisha.
Nearly 5,000 shelters were set up in Odisha for all the evacuees. Police in the state posted pictures on social media showing officers folding their hands in a sign of respect to persuade reluctant people to cooperate and move to safer grounds.
FANI impact in Puri pic.twitter.com/s88pqKhLbR
— PIB in Odisha (@PIBBhubaneswar) May 3, 2019
