Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi says communications have been disrupted in some areas, but no deaths or injuries have been reported. The cyclone is forecast to drop as much as 20 centimetres of rain on northern parts of the state of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, then continue north, hitting the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Bhutan, as well as parts of the Indian states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Fani's expected path. Credit:Cyclocane.com This could mean that heavy rains lash the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, home to

over 900,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Burma.

World Vision's Bangladesh national director Fred Witteeven said the organisation had emergency supplies ready to go in the camps. "Nevertheless people are living in homes made of bamboo and on steep hillsides, which puts them

at even greater risk," Witteeven says. By late Thursday in India, Fani had sustained winds of about 250 km/h, nearly in the range of a Category 5 hurricane, said Derrick Herndon, an associate researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. The World Meteorological Organisation said the storm was "one of the most intense" in 20 years in the region. "It's remarkable in terms of its wind speed," Herndon said. "The sustained winds are really near the top range of the winds we see in this part of the world." It was likely to hit 15 districts in Odisha, which has deployed hundreds of disaster management personnel, closed schools and colleges and asked doctors and other health officials not to go on leave until May 15.

Cyclone Fani. Credit:SSEC RealEarth The airport at Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, is shut on Friday. Neighbouring West Bengal state also decided to close an airport at Kolkata, its capital. India's cyclone season can last from April to December, when severe storms batter coastal cities and cause widespread deaths and damage to crops and property in both India and neighbouring Bangladesh. Technological advancements have helped meteorologists to predict weather patterns well in advance, giving authorities more time to prepare. Fani is forecast to be the worst storm since 2014. The navy and the coast guard have deployed ships and helicopters for relief operations, according to a government statement.

Tens of millions of people are potentially in the path of what the India Meteorological Department called an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". More than 850 storm shelters have been opened along Odisha's coast, said Bishnupada Sethi, the state's special relief commissioner. Each can hold about 1000 people, along with livestock. A satellite image of Cyclone Fani in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. Credit:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Odisha is battered by cyclonic storms every year with some intense enough to damage crops, plantations, trees, mud houses and communication and electric poles, as well as disrupt road traffic and transportation of essential goods. Severe storms also affect operations at oil and gas fields in the region and threaten lives of people and animals. Cyclone Fani in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday. Credit:Indian Metrological Dept/AP

Sea levels may rise about 1.5 metres above astronomical tide, said Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, secretary at India's Ministry of Earth Sciences. A super-cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours in 1999, killing 10,000 people. A mass evacuation of nearly a million people likely saved thousands of lives in 2013. "We are on the job and have sufficient time to evacuate people from the coastal areas," said Bishnupada Sethi, special relief commissioner with the Odisha government. About 150,000 people have already been relocated and contingency plans are in place to deal with heavy flooding, he said. The administration has stocked up medicines and food supplies in preparation, said N.C. Marwah, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority. As many as 48 National Disaster Response teams are ready to be deployed, he said.

In the beach village of Chandrabhaga, police helped residents move from thatched-roof homes to a nearby storm shelter on Thursday afternoon. They sat on the floor of the shelter or in plastic chairs awaiting the arrival of the storm. By evening, the sea had turned rough and strong winds were lashing buildings along the coast. The cyclonic storm Fani over the south-east Bay of Bengal to the east of Sri Lanka. Credit:AP The meteorological department warned of the "total destruction" of thatched huts in some districts, major damage to roads, the uprooting of power poles and potential danger from flying objects. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into deep seas and those who are already there have been advised to return to the coast. Indian Railways has cancelled more than 100 trains in the region and diverted several others to avoid damage to passengers and goods, a spokesman for the ministry said. Neighbouring Bangladesh also issued a weather warning. Mongla and Payra ports have been asked to hoist danger signal number seven on a scale of 10, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The country has suspended river transport on all routes, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said in Dhaka.

This could mean that heavy rains lash the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, home to

over 900,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Burma. Indian fishermen attempt to bring their boat ashore amid strong winds at Chandrabhaga beach in the Puri district of eastern Odisha state, India. Credit:AP The cyclone forecast has prompted several companies with operations in the region to take precautionary measures. State-run power producer NTPC may temporarily shut one to two units at its 3000-megawatt Talcher Kaniha plant in Odisha if the cyclone disrupts grid lines, said operations director Prakash Tiwari. Indian Oil, which operates a 15-million-tonnes-a-year refinery at Paradip in coastal Odisha, will take necessary steps to control the impact, said B.V. Rama Gopal, refineries director. Villagers of Chandrabhaga fishing village take shelter at a government run school building after they were evacuated by the authorities in the Puri district of eastern Odisha state, India. Credit:AP

"Weather is clear as of now and operations are all normal," he said. "Paradip refinery is designed to withstand cyclones with speed of more than 200 kilometres per hour." Oil & Natural Gas said it has towed five of its six drilling rigs operating in the Bay of Bengal to the coast as a precautionary measure, and evacuated almost 500 people working at its offshore oil and gas fields in the region. State-run National Aluminium said a cable belt conveyor from the mines to its refinery will be stopped in the event of heavy gusts, while heavy equipment operating in the field will get proper anchoring and locking. Airlines have cancelled flights to the region and some are waving cancellation fees until May 5. Reuters, Bloomberg, The New York Times