Cyclone Fani HIGHLIGHTS: On Thursday, the evacuation process in Odisha faced problems as rescue personnel battled public reluctance to evacuate homes in some high-risk areas and pleaded with tourists to stay off beaches. The state government has set a target to evacuate 11.5 lakh people across 15 districts — 1.3 lakh in Puri alone. According to the office of the Special Relief Commissioner, the Puri district administration managed to evacuate only 22,250 people by 4 pm. On Wednesday, the Puri district administration had warned all hotels to evacuate guests within 24 hours. The East Coast Railways and state government have arranged for special trains and buses to various destinations.
Explained | Fact Check: How Cyclone Fani got its name, why the next one will be Vayu
Explained | Why Cyclone Fani is an unusual storm
As Cyclone Fani raged outside, the doctors at Odisha railway hospital in Bhubaneswar maintained their calm and delivered a baby girl. The child, born to a 32-year-old railway employee working as a helper at the Coach Repair Workshop, Mancheswar, and the mother are doing fine, said officials of the Bhubaneswar-headquartered East Coast Railways (ECoR).
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"Baby made landfall at 11.03. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit. This was the mother's first baby and both of them are doing fine. The hospital suffered some damage," ECoR spokesperson J P Mishra told PTI.
The Navy has kept as many as seven warships along the eastern coast. Three are following the eye of the storm, while another four warships are positioned off the coast of Tamil Nadu. Helicopters are on standby at INS Dega in Vishakapatnam accompanied by divers, medical teams and relief material. The storm made landfall in Odisha this morning, which is on high alert with teams of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) on standby for rescue and relief operations.
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Three persons were killed in the Odisha storm, PTI quoted officials as saying.
A day after the Election Commission withdrew the Model Code of Conduct in 11 coastal districts of Odisha, the poll body today relaxed it in four districts of Andhra Pradesh too. This is to help facilitate rehabilitation work in these areas.
Indian Oil Corp, the country's biggest fuel retailer, said it has made arrangements to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel, LPG and jet fuel in Odisha and West Bengal that faced a category-4 cyclone. "In the wake of the cyclone Fani making landfall in Odisha earlier today (Friday), IOC is fully geared up and ensuring uninterrupted fuel supply from its locations in Odisha and West Bengal on the east coast," the company said in a statement.
While addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "We have gathered here today. At the same time, the people living in the coastal areas in eastern and southern India are facing an extremely severe cyclone. The Centre is in continuous contact with the governments in Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry." He added, "I have taken the latest update from officers. I held a review meeting yesterday. More than Rs 1000 crore was released to the concerned governments yesterday. The NDRF, Indian Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force are working with the administration. I assure the affected people that the nation and the Centre are with them."
As Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha, a baby was born at the Mancheswar Railway Hospital! Baby Fani? Over 1,000 pregnant women were shifted to hospitals before Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha as a precautionary measure.
Cyclone Fani has made landfall along the coast of Odisha near Puri. The storm is likely to pass through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore in the state before entering West Bengal, reported PTI. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, will also be hit by gusty wind of around 140 kmph. The storm will weaken as it enters Bengal. Other states which will see marginal impact include Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and parts of the northeast. Bangladesh, too, is on alert.
The Power Ministry said it has made arrangements to restore power supply in the affected areas with the least downtime. The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry has planned to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said it is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food. The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance. It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs.
On Thursday, a massive exodus was underway in coastal Odisha as hundreds of thousands of people left their home, on foot and by vehicles, in probably the largest evacuation ahead of a natural disaster in the country. More than 220 trains on the Kolkata-Chennai route have been cancelled until Saturday. Aviation regulator DGCA announced that flights in and out of Bhubaneswar airport stand cancelled on Friday. Consequently, the operations of various domestic airlines have been affected.
Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.
The Airports Authority of India today said no flights will take off from and to Kolkata from 3 pm to 8 am tomorrow. The closure time has been revised from the earlier announced 9.30 pm to 6 pm tomorrow.
The NDRF team which has been deployed in Digha has evacuated a total of 132 people, including 52 children from Dattapur and Tajpur, ANI reported. The evacuees have been shifted to a shelter.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will remain in Kharagpur, near the coastal belt, to monitor the situation today and tomorrow. The Trinamool Congress supremo has cancelled her political campaigns for the next two days.
In a press statement, the Navy in Vizag said, "Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Ranvir and Kadmatt with Relief Material and Medical Teams embarked have been deployed on the evening of 01 May and are maintaining south of the Cyclonic Storm to be the first responder and commence rescue operation as soon as the cyclone crosses coast. Additional Relief Material, Medical Teams and Diving Teams have been shifted from Visakhapatnam to Odisha by road to augment the Rescue and Relief efforts under Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) on May 2, 2019. Aircraft have been kept standby for immediate deployment to carry out aerial survey as soon as the cyclone crosses coast to assess the impact of the cyclone and aid in rescue operation. Helicopters are also kept standby for joining in the rescue operation and for air dropping of relief material when required."
Thirteen Navy aircraft are at standby in Visakhapatnam to carry out damage assessment and relief distribution requirements, news agency ANI reported.
On Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — India’s aviation safety regulator — had advised all airlines and operators to cancel flights to and from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, on May 3 and between 9.30pm on May 3 and 6pm on May 4, respectively, in order to avoid passenger inconvenience and safety of operations due to the approaching cyclonic storm Fani. “Resumption of flights will be with positive clearance from the respective air traffic control,” a senior DGCA official had said. Read full story here.
The East Coast Railways (ECoR) issued a statement saying as many as 103 trains have been cancelled in Odisha alone. Keeping in view the intensifying situation, the ECoR cancelled four more trains today. The trains which have been cancelled include the Bhubaneshwar-Bangiriposi Express (12891), RajyaRani Express from Rourkela to Kamakhya (18117), Secunderabad-Kamakhya Express (07149) and special train from Santragachhi to Chennai (02841). The railways have also diverted several trains running on the south route. Railways have also pressed into service three special trains to move people to a safer place in Odisha. Click here to read full list.
After the landfall, the system is passing through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal; the state capital of Bhubaneswar is likely to be hit by the high-velocity wind of around 140 kmph, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.
Nearly 11 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable and low-lying areas of at least 11 coastal district, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said, adding the evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres. No casualty has so far been reported from any part of the state, Sethi said adding the government is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality.
Puri and neighbouring areas are experiencing wind with a speed of 175 kilometres per hour which may go up to 200 kmph. Under the impact of the cyclone, the high-velocity wind is sweeping across several coastal districts like Ganjam, Puri, Khurda and Gajapati, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.
Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged with water as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state. Several trees were uprooted and thatched structures destroyed at some places including Bhubaneswar.
"Extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' hits Odisha coast in Puri with 175 kmph speed," IMD officials told PTI.
Preparing for the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, the Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 Disaster Relief Teams across Vizag, Chennai, Paradeep, Gopalpur, Haldi, Frazergunj and Kolkata, besides four Coast Guard ships at Vizag and Chennai.