Bhubaneshwar sources stated that at least one million people were evacuated in the last 24 hours from the vulnerable districts in Odisha ahead of cyclone Fani's landfall in the state on Friday. The officials said “According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) the cyclone is expected to make landfall between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the south of Puri. As of 8 a.m., the diameter of the storm's eye was 30 km and was moving at a speed of 18 kmph”.
Furthermore the Indian Navy warships Sahyadri, Ranvir and Kadmatt are on stand-by with relief materials and medical teams. Other naval vessels are also on stand-by at Vishakhapatinam. Apparently naval divers teams have moved to Odisha from Vishakhapattanam. Meanwhile, the cities of Puri, Paradip, Bhubaneswar, Gopalpur experienced light to moderate rain since Thursday night and early Friday morning. Hence strong winds measuring up to 174 kmph lashed Chilika, leading to the uprooting of trees.
Moreover the highest number of people 3 lakh were evacuated from Ganjam district while 1.3 lakh others from Puri district, said an official from the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office. Perhaps about 10,000 villages and 52 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are likely to be affected by the cyclonic storm and the state government has advised people not to step out of their houses. Hence flight operations were suspended in Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik Airport from Friday midnight.
