Except for damaging a few huts, Cyclone Fani did not cause much havoc in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as the severe cyclonic storm weakened Saturday morning and headed towards neighbouring Bangladesh.
Lightning during a thunderstorm killed eight persons in two districts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. Four persons were killed in Chandauli, while one person died in Sonebhadra.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm made landfall at around 8 a.m. in Puri but thanks to enough advance warning, about 11 lakh people had already been evacuated from vulnerable and low-lying areas of at least 11 coastal districts by Thursday.
The ship sailed south of the cyclone to be able to start rescue operations even as other naval vessels remain on standby at Vishakhapattanam. Naval divers teams have also moved to Odisha from Vishakhapattanam.
The Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department said the wind speed of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani could reach 200-230 kilometres when it makes the landfall.
The highest number of people -- 3 lakh -- was evacuated from Ganjam district while 1.3 lakh people have been evacuated from Puri district, said an official from the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office.
At the meeting, he directed the senior officers of the central government to maintain close coordination with officers of the affected states, a PMO statement said.
The cyclone is being tracked by Doppler Weather Radars at Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Machilipatnam.
Cyclone 'Fani' is very likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' by Monday evening and could take shape of an 'extremely severe cyclone' by Thursday, prompting the government to put the NDRF and the Indian Coast Guard on high alert, officials said on Monday.
Andaman Sea by January 8 and rough over east-central and adjoining south-east Bay of Bengal by January 8.
The Odisha government has evacuated more than 11,000 people to safety zones after the announcement about Cyclone Phethai making landfall in Andhra Pradesh coast and the IMD forecasting heavy rainfall in the region.
The MeT department said that coastal Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu are likely to experience rainfall in the next two days.
Cyclone Phethai is the third cyclone in the northeast monsoon season after cyclones Gaja and Titli.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea from November 12 and those already in deep sea have been asked to return
The cyclones are named by various warning centers to provide ease of communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings.
NDMA has issued a list of do's and don'ts for before, during and after a cyclonic storm. Have a look:
DAYE moved west-northwestward from northwest Bay of Bengal with a speed of 23 kilometre/hour and rossed south Odisha and adjoining Andhra Pradesh coast close to Gopalpur in the early hours of Friday.
The advisory said the sea will be very rough over central and north Bay of Bengal and off the Odisha, West Bengal and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
Haqikat Kya Hai: Truth behind cyclone alert from Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Some isolated places in Konkan will receive rain, but the rest of Maharashtra will have no impact.
Top News
Latest News
