Cyclone Fani: Over 8 lakh people being evacuated from coastal areas in Odisha

NEW DELHI: On Thursday at 8:50 AM an IMD bulletin which was released said that Fani is located around 230 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 420 km south-southwest of Puri.

Most likely the cyclone Fani is said to be moving north-northeastwards and will be crossing Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, around Puri during the afternoon of May 3 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph.

An Orange Alert has been issued for Odisha, West Bengal and Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh coasts.

Currently defence forces are on high alert, educational institutions have been ordered to be shut and over 8 lakh people who are residing in the coastal districts are being evacuated as Odisha braces for cyclone Fani.

50 teams of Odisha Fire Services have been kept on alert.

Railways has cancelled at least 103 trains and diverted two more in view of cyclone Fani.

The railways said that a full refund will be granted a to the passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if the tickets are produced for cancellation within the three days from when the date of journey is scheduled.

East Coast Railway has taken a decision to run a special train from Puri to Shalimar in Kolkata with an expectation of the return of tourists from the beach to the town due to cyclone Fani.

The Indian Coast Guard and the Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief and rescue operations. "Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 12 teams in Andhra Pradesh, 28 teams in Odisha and six teams in West Bengal. Additionally, 32 teams have been kept on standby. The teams are equipped with boats, tree cutters, telecom equipment," the statement said.