India evacuates 1 million people as cyclone approaches

By Ahmad Adil

CHANDIGARH, India (AA) – More than 1 million people in India’s Odisha state have been evacuated as Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall Friday morning.

Local authorities are on high alert with disaster teams deployed to several locations as 14 districts are expected to be impacted.

Prabhat Ranjan Mohapatra, a senior officer at Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner’s Office, told Anadolu Agency that more than one million residents had been moved to safer locations in the state and the evacuation process had been completed.

The office said the extremely severe storm is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross Odisha’s coast between the towns of Gopalpur and Chandbali close to the Hindu holy town of Puri, a major tourist destination, during 0800-1100 hours India Standard Time on May 3 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kilometers per hour gusting to 200 km/h. However, landfall impact has started.

Officials said that by using a location-based alert system, more than 10 million text messages were sent to people in different zones of vulnerability urging them to take precautions and move to shelters.

India's National Disaster Management Authority earlier this week said a severe cyclone will hit Odisha’s coast on May 3 with wind speeds of 175-185 km/h gusting up to 205 km/h.

According to Philip Klotzbach from Colorado State University, Fani is the strongest cyclone this early in the year in the North Indian Ocean since Cyclone Nargis in 2008.