In view of cyclone storm Fani intensifying into a ‘Severe Cyclonic Storm’ over the south-east and adjoining south-west Bay of Bengal, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is on high alert to render necessary humanitarian assistance.

The Indian navy has prepared with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material that include food, tents, clothes, medicines and blankets. Coast guard has tied up with NDRF and state administration to provide immediate relief in aftermath of Cyclone Fani.

Highlights:

6:47 am IST Cyclone Fani currently lies 65 km from Gopalpur and 80 km from Puri in Odisha: IMD Bulletin Cyclone Fani currently lies 65 km from Gopalpur and 80 km from Puri in Odisha: IMD Bulletin, reports PTI.





6:46 am IST Ganjam (Odisha): 301460 people evacuated. 541 pregnant women shifted to hospital safely District Magistrate, Ganjam (Odisha): 301460 people evacuated. 541 pregnant women shifted to hospital safely. District Magistrate, Ganjam (Odisha): 301460 people evacuated. 541 pregnant women shifted to hospital safely. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/Jb0wOFePZK — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019





6:34 am IST More than 1 million people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts in last 24 hours in Odisha More than 1 million people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts in last 24 hours in Odisha. Ganjam and Puri evacuated more than 3 lakh and 1.3 lakh people respectively to safe shelters. About 5000 kitchens started operating to serve people in the shelters- Chief Minister’s office. Gopalpur records 149 mm of rain since last night due to Cyclone Fani.





6:33 am IST MHA’s Control Room helpline number for Cyclone Fani- 1938, becomes operational Ministry of Home Affairs’ Control Room helpline number for Cyclone Fani- 1938, becomes operational to provide latest updates, reports news agency ANI.





6:32 am IST Odisha: Visuals from Jagatsinghpur district’s Paradip Odisha: Visuals from Jagatsinghpur district’s Paradip which is on high alert in view of Cyclone Fani; the very severe cyclonic storm is expected to make a landfall in Puri district of Odisha today. Odisha: #Visuals from Jagatsinghpur district's Paradip which is on high alert in view of #CycloneFani; the very severe cyclonic storm is expected to make a landfall in Puri district of Odisha today pic.twitter.com/RHK5hnBlx0 — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019





6:11 am IST Puri: Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall in the district today Puri: Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall in the district today; #visuals from near the sea. Puri: #CycloneFani is expected to make landfall in the district today; #visuals from near the sea. #Odisha pic.twitter.com/2kvVaMnPNT — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019





5:55 am IST Digha: Fishermen prohibited from venturing into the sea Digha: Fishermen prohibited from venturing into the sea, asked to vacate the seashore and move to relief centre. Fisherman Sujit Muiya says, “We’re scared. Safety is our priority but once cyclone goes away, we’ll need to earn money. Can’t bear damage of my fishing net.” Digha: Fishermen prohibited from venturing into the sea, asked to vacate the seashore & move to relief centre. Fisherman Sujit Muiya says, "We're scared. Safety is our priority but once cyclone goes away, we'll need to earn money. Can't bear damage of my fishing net." #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/VJYn5zdelu — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019





5:49 am IST Puri: Fishermen in Penthakata village leave their houses for relief centers Puri: Fishermen in Penthakata village leave their houses for relief centers as Cyclone Fani is expected to make a landfall here later today. Puri: Fishermen in Penthakata village leave their houses for relief centers as #CycloneFani is expected to make a landfall here later today; #visuals from May 2. #Odisha pic.twitter.com/dJfC8jxb72 — ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019





5:16 am IST Landfall process is very likely to continue till noon of 3rd May: IMD India Meteorological Department: Cyclone Fani is very likely to cross Odisha Coast b/w Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri during 3rd May forenoon with maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph. Landfall process is very likely to continue till noon of 3rd May, reports news agency ANI.





12:37 am IST Odisha: Visuals from a relief camp in Puri Odisha: Visuals from a relief camp in Puri; Jayanti, a Red Cross member, says, “1,000 people have been evacuated. Many people aren’t willing to come, scared their belongings will be stolen. But we’ll evacuate them tomorrow morning at any cost.We want zero casualty,” reports news agency ANI. Odisha: #Visuals from a relief camp in Puri; Jayanti, a Red Cross member, says, "1,000 people have been evacuated. Many people aren't willing to come, scared their belongings will be stolen. But we'll evacuate them tomorrow morning at any cost.We want zero casualty." #FaniCyclone pic.twitter.com/2zYggJUicm — ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019





12:28 am IST Odisha government has suspended Chief District Medical Officer of Rayagada Odisha government has suspended Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Rayagada, Siva Prasad Padhi, for not joining duty despite Government’s order cancelling holidays of all the employees in Health Department in view of the cyclonic storm Fani, reports news agency ANI.





12:18 am IST Power supply shall be restored once wind speed reduces Odisha Government: Once the wind speed reduces, power supply shall be restored in a phased manner after necessary checking of electrical installations, reports news agency ANI.





12:10 am IST Odisha government has decided to disconnect power supply Odisha Government: In view of very severe cyclonic storm Fani scheduled to landfall near Puri on 3 May, it has been decided to disconnect the power supply when the wind speed reaches 50 km/hr as a precautionary measure for the safety of people and equipment, reports news agency ANI.





6:50 pm IST Operations from Kolkata airport to be suspended from tomorrow night Operations from Kolkata airport will remain suspended beginning from 9:30 tomorrow night till 6pm tomorrow evening.





6:21 pm IST No flights to take off from Bhubaneswar Airport from midnight No flights will take off from midnight today for the next 24 hrs from Bhubaneswar Airport. Railways have already suspended operations of trains in Odisha.





4:23 pm IST ‘Fani’ impact brings rains to north coastal Andhra Parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh started receiving heavy rains on Thursday as the extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ in the Bay of Bengal neared the coast and was likely to make a landfall near Puri on Odisha on Friday, officials said. Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam districts in north coastal Andhra bordering Odisha were experiencing the rains along with squally winds with the speed of 50 km per hour. Parts of East Godavari district were also receiving rains. As the cyclone is likely to have major impact on Srikakulam district abutting Odisha, authorities have sounded a red alert. The district officials alerted people living in villages on the banks of Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers.





3:22 pm IST ‘8 rescue teams, ships, Chetak helicopters positioned at Vizag, Chennai’: Coast Guard East “We have positioned eight rescue teams, four each at Visakhapatnam and Chennai. We have also kept two ships each at Visakhapatnam and Chennai for immediate mobilisation post-cyclone. Chetak helicopters, one each at Chennai and Visakhapatnam, are kept ready to provide relief,” said Coast Guard East. :ANI





3:05 pm IST ‘Coast guard has tied up with NDRF to provide relief after Fani strikes’: Coast Guard East IG “Coast guard has tied up with NDRF and state administration to provide immediate relief in aftermath of Cyclone Fani. From April 25, our ships and aircraft are continuously patrolling the areas and we have been sending out weather warnings to the fishermen,” said Paramesh, IG Coast Guard East. :ANI Paramesh, IG Coast Guard East: Coast guard has tied up with NDRF&state administration to provide immediate relief in aftermath of cyclone #Fani. From April 25 our ships&aircraft are continuously patrolling the areas and we have been sending out weather warnings to the fishermen. pic.twitter.com/tLvd3tbDv8 — ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019





2:50 pm IST ‘Take effective steps for relief, rescue operations’: PM Modi to officials concerned After reviewing the emerging situation, PM instructed senior officers of the union government to maintain close coordination with officers of the affected states, to ensure preventive measures, and also to take effective steps for relief and rescue operations, as required. :ANI After reviewing the emerging situation, PM instructed senior officers of the Union Government to maintain close coordination with officers of the affected states, to ensure preventive measures, and also to take effective steps for relief and rescue operations, as required. #Fani https://t.co/bIjR6hcpC4 — ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019





2:30 pm IST PM chairs high-level meet to review Cyclone Fani preparedness PM Modi today chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness for Cyclone Fani. The meeting was attended by cabinet secretary, principal secretary to the PM, additional principal secretary to the PM, the home secretary and other senior officials from IMD, NDRF, NDMA & PMO etc. :ANI





2:15 pm IST 879 multipurpose cyclone-cum-flood shelters in Odisha Odisha has 879 multipurpose cyclone-cum-flood shelters that can houses more than 1000 people each. In addition to it, educational institutions are likely to be used to house the evacuated people. The livestock of the people would also be housed at cyclone shelters.





1:50 pm IST ‘CM Patnaik set target of zero casualty in storm’: Relief Commissioner Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said at least 8 lakh people on the coast as well as interior districts would be evacuated from their homes to cyclone shelters before Thursday evening. “Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has set a target of zero casualty. We are sparing no effort to evacuate everyone, with special focus on children, women, old and disabled persons. We have sent 3.3 million SMS to people who are likely to be affected by Cyclone Fani through Early Warning Dissemination System from State Emergency Operations Centre,” said Sethi. “If need arises, we would evacuate more people from their homes.”





1:30 pm IST Ahead of Cyclone Fani’s landfall, 74 trains cancelled in first phase In view of the cyclonic storm Fani, at least 47 trains have been cancelled by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) in Odisha, said an official on Wednesday. In all, 74 trains have been cancelled in the first phase keeping in mind the safety and security of passengers, the ECoR official said.





1:10 pm IST NDRF team arrives in Andhra Pradesh National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team arrives in Ichchapuram, Srikakulam in view of Cyclone Fani.:ANI Andhra Pradesh: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team arrives in Ichchapuram, Srikakulam in view of #CycloneFani. pic.twitter.com/jr3UafGyBZ — ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019





12:55 pm IST Tourists in Odisha being transported to safety Senior bureaucrat Suresh Mohapatra said all the tourists staying in various hotels of Puri are being sent back in special buses and a train. “Five special buses of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation and special train with Bengali tourists would leave from Puri for Kolkata in a few hours from now,” the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer said.





12:40 pm IST EVMs in Odisha to be shifted to safer locations The Election Commission gave its nod for shifting of the EVMs to safer locations in Odisha, where four-phased elections for the Lok Sabha and state assembly were completed on April 29.





12:30 pm IST Officials keep Odisha zoo shut, animals kept in feeding chambers Officials in Bhubaneswar’s Nandankanan zoo also decided to close the zoo from May 2 to May 4 and keep all the captive animals in feeding chambers.





12:15 pm IST Navy ships will be the first responder when storm crosses cost The Indian Navy tweeted that its ships Sahyadri, Ranvir and Kadmatt with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) stores including food, medicines and clothing will be following the cyclone keeping south of the eye of the storm and remain standby to be the first responder when it crosses the coast.





12:00 pm IST South Eastern Railway cancels trains The South Eastern Railway (SER) has cancelled 17 trains bound for south India and Puri in Odisha. It has also decided to cancel 26 trains originating from south India, a railways official said, according to news agency PTI.





11:45 pm IST ‘800K evacuated from coastal areas of Odisha’: Naveen Patnaik Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s office said that around 800,000 people will be evacuated from the state’s coastal areas by Thursday morning. “He (the chief minister) emphasised that special care should be taken to safely evacuate pregnant women, children, old and differently abled from vulnerable areas,” his office said Twitter. “About 800,000 people will be evacuated and sheltered in cyclone centres, schools and other safer places,” the statement added.





11:30 am IST Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu put on high alert The neighbouring coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have also been put on high alert.





11:05 am IST ‘Storm likely to make landfall at Odisha on May 3’: IMD The storm is moving northwards with a speed of 5 kilometres per hour in the last six hours and likely to make landfall at Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali on May 3 with a wind speed of up to 200 kmph, IMD said.





10:45 am IST ‘Fani is an extremely severe cyclonic storm’: IMD The India Meteorological Department has categorised Cyclone Fani as an extremely severe cyclonic storm and the strongest pre-monsoon cyclone in the last four decades. The met department said early on Thursday that Cyclone Fani is about 540km south-southwest of Puri.



