The cyclonic storm is about 690 km from Chennai and is moving towards the Odisha coast.

Naval ships in Visakhapatnam and Chennai are on stand-by to head to the most affected areas for relief and rescue operations, the Navy said in a statement.

The National Crisis Management Committee, the country's top body to deal with emergency situation, took stock of the situation at a meeting in Delhi on Monday, a Home Ministry statement said. The meeting followed directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is closely monitoring the situation. The committee will meet again today.

Because of Cyclone Fani, the Indian Air Force and BrahMos Aerospace have put on hold the test-fire of the air-launched version of supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft. The testing was scheduled for this week.

The cyclonic storm is expected to trigger moderate rain in north coastal Tamil Nadu, south coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala today, the Met department said.

The Odisha government has cancelled the leaves on its employees in the three coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri and Kendrapara to ensure the state is prepared to deal with Cyclone Fani.

Odisha's 879 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been kept ready. The shelters can accommodate about one million people during cyclones and floods.

On Monday, PM Modi expressed concern over Cyclone Fani. "Spoke to officials regarding the situation arising due to Cyclone Fani. Asked them to take preventive measures and be prepared to provide all possible assistance. Also urged them to work closely with Governments of the affected states. Praying for everyone's safety and well-being," PM Modi tweeted.

The name ''Fani", which is pronounced as "Foni", was suggested by Bangladesh. Roughly translated, "Fani" means the hood of a snake, according to reports.