India is evacuating around 800,000 people from coastal areas on the Bay of Bengal as a cyclone is forecast to bring flooding, heavy rainfall and winds gusting up to 200kph (125mph).

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said Cyclone Fani would make landfall in Odisha state on Friday afternoon, and recommended the “extensive evacuation of coastal areas”.

Fishers were urged to return to coasts and it was predicted that the storm would bring widespread disruption to power supplies, rail and road traffic inland.

The government said people living in 14 low-lying districts of Odisha would be moved to shelters and sturdier school and college buildings. Tourists were urged to leave coastal areas in both Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal.

“We are maximising efforts at all levels for evacuation for the time being,” Odisha’s special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told the Reuters news agency.

Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Show all 40 1 /40 Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India A man removes debris from a collapsed house after floods in Paravur Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An ariel shot of Kerala from Thiruvanpuram Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Murgan and his family clean up their house in Mundancavu village at Chegannur upon returning home after the flood waters receded Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India People assess damage caused by floods on the outskirts of Kochi AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Men paddle their boat through the lawns of a partially submerged church at Kuttanad in Alleppey district Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Sandhya Biji and her son in front of their damaged house on the banks of Pamba river Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Border Security Force distribute food food and water to the residents who are stuck in their houses as well who have not vacated houses because of the flood water in interior places at Allapy Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India A damaged house on the banks of Pamba river Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Murgan cleaning up his house Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An aerial view shows partially submerged houses at a flooded area in the southern state of Kerala Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Murgan and his family clean up their house Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India People are airlifted by the Indian Navy soldiers during a rescue operation Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India People wait for aid on the roof of their house Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian volunteers and rescue personal evacuate local residents AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian people use a boat to rescue an elderly man in the flooded water in Kochi EPA Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An aerial view shows partially submerged houses at a flooded area in the southern state of Kerala Reuters Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An Indian woman watches residents walking through flood streets next to their marooned houses AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian army personal evacuate local residents AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian commuters wade through flooded streets AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India People move past a flooded road in Thrissur AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Water gushes out following heavy rain and landslide in Kozhikode AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Fire and Rescue personnel evacuate local residents in an inflatable boat from a flooded area at Muppathadam near Eloor AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian residents look at the Shiva Temple submerged AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Roads and houses engulfed in water following heavy rain and landslide in Kozhikode. AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India People look at vehicles stuck in the mud AFP/Getty Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India A young man wades through a flooded street in Kochi EPA Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Rescue operations being conducted at the landslide location at Kuttampuzha AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An elderly woman is rescued in a cooking utensil AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Local residents look at a partially destroyed house after heavy monsoon rains led to a landslide in Kannappankund AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An Indian woman sits inside her house immersed in flood waters in Ernakulam district of Kochi AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian fire and rescue personnel evacuate local resident AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India A woman stands at the door of her flooded home in Kochi EPA Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India India residents stand on the shore as Periyar river flooded AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India An Indian man carries a basket of bananas next to houses immersed in flood waters AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Laborers hailing from northern states wade through flood waters as they shift to higher ground AP Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan (L) along with opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala (2L) visit relief camp in Chengamanadu Government Higher Secondary School AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Athirampally Falls EPA Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India epa06939658 A structure is submerged in flood water following heavy rain in Kochi, Kerala state, India, 09 August 2018 (issued 10 August 2018). According to reports, the Indian state of Kerala has been hit by heavy rains, causing floods and killing at least 20 people. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rain to continue on the 10 August. EPA/PRAKASH ELAMAKKARA PRAKASH ELAMAKKARA EPA Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Indian residents look at houses destroyed by flood waters at Kannappankundu AFP/Getty Images Kerala floods: heavy monsoon rains lead to deaths in India Kochi's International airport apron flooded AFP/Getty Images

Fani is the first major storm of India’s cyclone season, which generally runs from April to December. The tracking service Tropical Storm Risk rated it a mid-range category 3 storm.

In its latest bulletin on Thursday morning, the IMD warned the worst-affected coastal districts would see a storm surge of about 1.5m above regular tidal levels, which was “very likely to inundate low lying areas”.

Parts of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh would experience “extremely heavy rainfall” of above 20cm, it warned. Sea conditions would be “phenomenally” rough, the bulletin said, adding that “large boats and ships may get torn from their moorings”.

Cyclones coming in from the Bay of Bengal lead to many evacuations every year, and can cause widespread destruction to properties, damage to crops and deaths across both India and Bangladesh.

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Two decades ago a super-cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours, killing 10,000 people, while in 2013 a mass evacuation of nearly a million people is likely to have saved thousands of lives.