Cyclone Fani 65 km from Gopalpur, 80 km away from Puri in Odisha: IMD
Fani third to hit after Cyclone Gaja, Cyclone Titli
India's Metrological Department(IMD) in its latest update said Cyclone Fani was just 65 kilometres from Gopalpur and 80 kilometres from Puri in Odisha.
The Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said the wind speed of the 'extremely severe Cyclone Fani'could reach 200-230 kilometres when it makes the landfall in the afternoon.
"The cyclone is moving at a speed of 16 kilometres per hour," the IMD added. In Bhubaneshwar, strong wind conditions already exist. In Puri, strong winds and rainfall have hit the city.
Meanwhile, authorities have closed all schools and Universities around Puri which is expected to face the brunt of the cyclone. The east coast Railway said it had cancelled further 10 more trains for the next three days ahead of the cyclone. Railways had earlier cancelled 147 trains from May 1st to May 3rd.
In West Bengal which is also expected to face the approaching storm, the state transport department said south Bengal state transport corporation (SBSTC) will operate about 50 buses from Digha on May 3rd to evacuate the stranded tourists to minimise inconvenience caused due to suspension of train operations to Digha.
The Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at different spots and deployed four ships to handle the situation.
Cyclone Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.