Bhubaneswar, May 3 (IBNS): Cyclone Fani on Friday hit the Odisha coast as impact of its landfall has already started, officials said.
"ESCS FANI about 25 km SSWof Puri at 0830 IST. To cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur & Chandbali close to Puri during 0800-1100 IST. Landfall started at 0800 hrs IST. Part of eye lies over land at 0830. Entire process of eye entering into land will be completed in next 2 hrs. ," Indian Meteorological Department tweeted.
Nealry 11 lakh people have been evacuated to ensure safety before the cyclone hit the coastal state.
With an aim to keep situations under control, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and disaster management agencies have been kept on standby.
As landfall impact of #CycloneFani hits Puri, here's how it feels on the ground.
— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2019
Video courtesy @PIBBhubaneswar pic.twitter.com/WNDWgoXtmP
Administrations in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have also taken precautionary measure for the cyclone which has been described by the Indian Meteorological Department as 'extremely severe cyclonic storm'.
After the landfall the system is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards, weaken gradually and enter into West Bengal as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with the wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 115 kmph, read the IMD statement issued earlier.
"It is very likely to move further north- northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh on 4th April evening as a Cyclonic Storm with wind speed 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph," the statement said.
PM Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness for Cyclone Fani.
The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, the Principal Secretary to the PM, the Additional Principal Secretary to the PM, the Home Secretary, and other senior officials from the IMD, NDRF, NDMA and PMO among others.
ESCS FANI about 25 km SSWof Puri at 0830 IST. To cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur & Chandbali close to Puri during 0800-1100 IST. Landfall started at 0800 hrs IST. Part of eye lies over land at 0830. Entire process of eye entering into land will be completed in next 2 hrs. pic.twitter.com/2RrDpvyOuj
— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019
In a statement, the East COast Railway said :"Keeping in mind the Safety & Security of Train Passengers in view of Cyclone-FANI, Railways earlier had cancelled 107 trains from 1st to 3rd May, 2019. It has further decided to cancel 40 more trains on different days."
All flights from Odisha's capital city Bhubaneswar have already been cancelled from Thursday midnight.
Kolkata airport will shut its operation from 9:30 PM on Friday.
The districts to be affected seriously include Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Bhadrak and Balasore besides the northern part of Ganjam.
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