Cyclone Fani: 8 lakh people evacuated in Odisha, special trains announced in Puri-Kolkata

On May 3, Cyclone Fani is expected to land in Odisha’s coastal areas. The cyclonic storm has become an “extremely severe cyclonic.” An IMD newsletter released on Thursday at 8.50 a.m. said Fani is located about 230 km southeast of Visakhapatnam and 420 km southwest of Puri.

Fani is very likely to move north-northeast and cross Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, around Puri on the afternoon of May 3 with a maximum sustained wind speed from 170-180 kmph to 200 kmph rainfall.

The cyclonic storm is likely to impact coastal districts like Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore.

The IMD also warned of a storm surge of about 1.5 metres height which may inundate low- lying coastal areas of Odisha’s Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts at the time of landfall.