Cyclone Fani: 8 dead in Odisha

WEPEN, May 3, 2019: UPDATES of the day

    8:30 pm : Eight people have died in Odisha.
    Has weakened from an extremely severe to a severe cyclonic storm.
    Winds gusting upto 115 kmph to hit West Bengal coast around midnight.
    Calcutta Airport shut down from 3 pm Monday till 8 pm Saturday.

 FRIDAY MORNING    Puri, Odisha:
    One 18 year old died due to uprooting of tree in Sakhigopal.
    Woman dies while being shifted to shelter A woman died while being shifted to a cyclone shelter in Debendranarayanpur, a seaside village in Kendrapara district in Odisha. identified as 70 year old Usha Baidya.
    2 more dead with in wall collapse and roof caving in.
    Vehicular movement to the coastal town of Puri was disrupted due to uprooting of roadside trees.
    11 am – SN Pradhan, DG, NDRF :  No SOS yet. Highway some trees cleared by NDRF.
    Wind speeds reach 190 km at around 10 am at Puri and surrounding areas in Odisha
    Telecom systems down in many areas. Cellular services functional.
    No loss of live reported till 10 am
    SN Pradhan, DG NDRF stated  “Predictions well in time from IMD. Trees being uprooted. Debris flying. Damages to houses. No casualty yet. Preparation on ground is solid owing to lead time we got. 28 teams of NDRF along coastline of Odisha. 48 hours before they were placed. Evacuation of more than 1 million people. That was the biggest preventive measure. 1000 cyclone shelters. Proper coordination with state forces.”
    GP Sharma of Skynet stated : “Moving North northeastwards. It will go to Puri to Baripada parallel to the coast. Landfall complete by 10:30 am. Moisture is the lifeline of the cyclone as it is close to the coastline. Manipur and Nagaland will witness heavy rainfall later during the week.”
    KR Suresh, DDG Coat Guard said “All provisions ready. 14 ships deployed on the coast. Lat 10 days pro active. Preparation has been good in the ocean. We are fully in control. Nothing untoward reported.”
    West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee cancels her campaigns for 2 days, to stay in Kharagpur near the coastal belt and monitor the situation in West Bengal.
    #FaniCyclone is expected to move towards West Bengal, said the Met Department.
    Indian railways to run a special train from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai today for passengers affected by Cyclone Fani.



May 3, 2019: As the country watched with bated breadth the Landfall process of Cyclone Fani (pronounced Foni) started with wind speeds at 140 kmph, reaching upto 185 kmph at around 8:12 am in Puri, Odisha. The cyclone was around 35 km from Puri at that time.

    Three Naval ships are tracking the eye of the storm. The diameter of cyclone is 30 km from the vortex. Capt VK Sharma of the Indian Navy. As soon as the storm subsides the Navy helicopters will conduct  aerial surveys and access the damages after which State and Union authorities regarding which places need maximum relief and rescue.
    GP Sharma of Skymet stated “When the eye of the storm crosses the coastline there is a lull condition after that starts the main problem with the curve of the storm carrying heavy precipitation brings down heavy rains. 4 hours after landfall is the crucial time.”
    “In the last 36 hours around 11 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable area” stated RP Sharma, DGP, Odisha.
    As many as 25 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force along with State Fire Service personnel have been deployed in coastal areas.
    Around 10,000 villages spread over 14 districts such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jaipur. Keonjar, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj are likely to be affected.
    No major damage has been reported from Vizag, Srikakulam except of uprooting of trees, electric poles and wall collapse. J Nivas, Collector of Srikakulam bordering Odisha stated that 2399 mm has been recorded in the area since 8:30am Thursday to Friday 4am.
    Puri is bearing the maximum brunt with wind speeds of 185 kmph. The cyclone is moving
    The Home Ministry has set up a control room with the Helpline Number 1938.
    All flights to and fro from Bhubaneshwar have been cancelled since midnight. Kolkata Airport will also shut down from 9:30pm Friday till 6pm Saturday.
    Nearly all tourists have been evacuated from Puri by trains and buses. 147 trains have been cancelled. However three special trains ran on Thursday to evacuate tourists back to Bengal.
    Summer holidays have been brought forward in West Bengal starting from Friday owing to the ongoing heat wave and the cyclone.