With the tropical cyclonic storm Fani set to make landfall in the coastal district of Puri in Odisha on Friday morning, the state government has evacuated more than a million people from low-lying areas of 15 districts to temporary shelters.
The cyclone will have a huge impact on Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The Cyclone Fani is expected to cross the coastal line of Odisha between Gopalpur and Chandbali between 8 am and 11 am on Friday morning.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), extremely Severe Cyclonic storm FANI is located about 200 km SSW of Puri. The cyclone will cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali to the south of Puri during May 3 F/N with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph. Landfall process continues till Friday noon/afternoon.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata will be shut between from Friday 9.30 to till Saturday 6 pm. Flight operations from Bhubaneswar have also been cancelled from midnight. The Indian railways have cancelled nearly 140 trains due to the cyclone.
The IMD tweeted from their official handle saying that the impact of landfall process has started in Odisha. Cyclone Fani is likely to move towards West Bengal after crossing Odisha.
