Cyclone Fani: Odisha on high alert; ‘yellow warning’ issued by Indian Meteorological Department

Cyclone Fani, which is an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’, is approaching the Odisha coast. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘yellow warning’ to the state and also predicted that there will be heavy rain in several areas. The Navy, the National Disaster Response Force and the Coast Guard are on high alert currently. Apart from Odisha, other states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are also on high alert. 879 multipurpose cyclone shelters are kept ready and one million people can come together in these shelters.

The IMD released a statement saying, “Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places in the districts of Boudh, Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Deogarh and Sundargarh in Odisha.”

An IMD circular said:

“It is very likely to move northwestwards till May 1 noon and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards and cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri around May 3 afternoon with a maximum sustained wind of speed 175-185 kmph gusting to 205 kmph.”

The weather report stated the winds of 150 -160 kmph to 170 kmph is likely to hit the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara; 110-120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph over the districts of Gajapati, Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore; 80-90 kmph over the districts of Nayagarh, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Dhenkanal and 30-40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph over other districts by May 3 evening.

IMD has also said that there are signs of heavy rainfall in the Bay of Bengal, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh within 24 hours.

The state authorities have also advised the tourists to leave Puri by tomorrow evening.

For more updates on this, stay tuned to our space.

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