Bhubaneswar: Atleast 4 people have reportedly died as the extremely severe cyclonic storm FANI made landfall near Puri at 10 am. The Puri city and nearby areas are currently experiencing strong winds with speed upto 180 km/hour. However, the death count and exact reasons of death are yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
According to IMD bulletine, Landfall process is very likely to continue till noon/afternoon of tomorrow the 3rd May. After the landfall the system is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards, weaken gradually and enter into West Bengal as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with the wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 115 kmph. It is very likely to move further north- northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh on 4thApril evening as a Cyclonic Storm with wind speed 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph. The cyclone is being tracked by Doppler Weather Radars Vishakhapatnam & Machilipatnam.
The Odisha government has initiated a large scale evacuation process involving 11 lakh people. The state government has already evacuated about 75% people to safe places, the SRC said.
Meanwhile, civil Aviation Ministry has directed closure of flight operations at Biju Pattnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar from midnight for 24 hours. Several carriers like Indigo, Spicejet, Vistara, AirIndia have cancelled their flights to the Bhubaneswar Airport. The East-Coast Railways has also cancelled hundreds of trains and diverted several other trains.