Cyclone Fani Makes Landfall in Puri: With Fani in Odisha cancelling trains, dislocating millions, CM Naveen Patnaik faces a huge challenge
Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha’s Puri at 8:30 a.m IST at a wind speed of 185 km/hr.
Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri, Odisha, during the morning hours of May 3, 2019. It is the deadliest cyclone to hit Odisha since the Super Cyclone in 1999 — which killed over 10,000 people.
The wind speeds during the landfall now were as high as 175 km/hr. Around 10,000 villages and 52 towns are in grave danger as they lie in the path of the cyclone.
THE EXTREMELY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM “FANI” LAY CENTERED AT 0830 HOURS IST OF TODAY, 03rd MAY, 2019 NEAR LAT. 19.60N AND LONG. 85.70E OVER NORTHWEST & ADJOINING WESTCENTRAL BAY OF BENGAL ABOUT 25 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF PURI. pic.twitter.com/6Ns2EDHgnU
— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019
The Indian Meteorogical Department tweeted that as of 10 AM IST, the eye of the cyclone had crossed the coast of Odisha and moved into land area.
FANI centered near lat 19.8 & long 85.7 at 0930 IST of today close to Puri, latest observations indicates that the eye of cyclone has completely moved into land by 1000 hrs IST. Thus the cyclone crossed Odisha coast between 0800 - 1000 IST. pic.twitter.com/gAQ3kpmRHg
— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019
As of now, Cyclone Fani has caused several trees to be uprooted in Bhubaneshwar and heavy downpours continue along the coastline. Cyclone Fani is likely to weaken from éxtremely severe’to ‘very severe’ in the next six hours. In the wake of the cyclone, several people in Odisha took to Twitter to share information from ground zero.
A viral video shows ‘the sound and the fury’of the cyclone during landfall at Puri:
The sound and the fury : here's what the landfall at Puri by #CycloneFani actually looked like..Video by @PIBBhubaneswar pic.twitter.com/4GpvKFkRQ3
— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2019
Another user shared pictures of the submerged deck of a ship deployed during the cyclone:
Have a look at the roll being experienced by one of the ships deployed in the wake of #CycloneFani. Do notice the totally wet quarter deck.... Yes, its getting in and out of water view choppy seas around pic.twitter.com/RqZoDcBPDX
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 2, 2019
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra took to Twitter to explain the situation in Odisha and express his concern for the evacuees impacted by Cyclone Fani in Odisha:
Everything is flying in Air ..have literally turned deaf because of wind sound ..All window panes broken ..difficult indeed ..if this is my condition in a concrete building ..I pray for the lives of millions ????
— Chowkidar Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 3, 2019
As of now, one million people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts and are taking refuge in cyclone shelters. There has also been a report of a woman dying on her way to a cyclone shelter in Debendranarayanpur, a coastal village in Odisha. Around 604 pregnant women have been shifted to maternal care centres.
Andhra Pradesh: People take refuge in a shelter in Ichchapuram town of Srikakulam district. Some houses were damaged in the rain and wind experienced by the district today. IMD says the system influence will be prevalent in Srikakulam for next 12 hours. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/qIkVEnjStZ
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019
The government took several steps to ensure the safety of the people during the massive storm and impact of Cyclone Fani. The government under CM Naveen Patnaik has set up 4,852 shelters where people under distress have been provided with cooked food. Twenty-eight units of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been deployed and 525 fire fighters are ready for rescue operations.
Odisha: NDRF personnel at Paradip sea beach ask locals to vacate the area as strong winds and rain hit the region. #CycloneFani is expected to make landfall in Puri district soon. pic.twitter.com/h18cJaxmul
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019
Around 300 boats are kept ready in case of a flood following Cyclone Fani.
Aircrafts and helicopters are also ready for air-dropping relief material.
Latest reports suggest that Cyclone Fani is now moving towards Bengal.
All flights to and from Kolkata Airport from 3 p.m. (IST) today, to 8 a.m. (IST) tomorrow have been cancelled. In addition, 157 trains in Odisha stand cancelled. The flight operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (Odisha) have been suspended since midnight.
If you are in distress, here are Odisha’s emergency contact numbers for Cyclone Fani.
#CycloneFaniUpdates: #Odisha’s emergency helpline number for #CycloneFani +916742534177, Control room number of different districts issued pic.twitter.com/iP6YRw94FN
— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) May 3, 2019
How Odisha will manage Cyclone Fani will, of course, be another huge test for CM Naveen Patnaik, whose disaster management abilities had to withstand the impact of huge earlier storms including Phailin (2013) and Hudhud (2014) hitting Odisha. With Cyclone Fani now, Patnaik faces another massive challenge.
For the ordinary citizen now, there is only thing to do at the moment.
Stay calm, stay alert and stay safe.