Over a million people in India have been evacuated from the path of monstrous tropical cyclone Fani, which made landfall in the country on Friday. Authorities are poised for the worst, as winds are predicted to reach over 200 kph.

The armed forces and the coast guard have been placed on full alert as the “extremely severe cyclonic storm” began battering eastern India’s Odisha coast. Gust winds of up to 195 kph were recorded by early Friday morning, India’s Meteorological Department said, as authorities warned of flooding, fallen trees, and large-scale destruction.

The scene outside my home. One of these trees has just been uprooted, & the brunt of #CycloneFani (now lashing Puri, Konark, Chilika) is still more than an hour away from here!Praying for the safety of all, my team & i remain ready to assist with rescue & relief operations 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/7oTdAV6pE5 — Chowkidar Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) May 3, 2019

Concerned with the storm’s potentially dangerous impact, rescuers rushed to evacuate more than a million people to some 3,000 shelters that are being equipped with food. Medical as well as search and rescue teams also remain on high alert.

The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun ..extremely high wind speed ..heavy rain ..the harrowing sound ..reminds me of 1999 SupercycloneWith folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jaganath ji to give us the strength to endure this🙏 pic.twitter.com/BXkdNQlULm — Chowkidar Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 3, 2019

Bhubaneswar Airport and Kolkata Airport remain closed while train services to affected areas are canceled. Schools have shut their doors. The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) believes that at least 52 towns and around 10,000 villages in nine districts will be affected. So far there have been no reports on casualties.

The sound and the fury : here's what the landfall at Puri by #CycloneFani actually looked like..Video by @PIBBhubaneswarpic.twitter.com/4GpvKFkRQ3 — PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2019

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