Around 800,000 people are in the process of being evacuated along India’s eastern coastline in anticipation of Cyclone Fani.
Cyclone Fani is heading towards the state of Orissa with wind speeds in excess of 200 km/h and is expected to make landfall on Friday. Nearly 100,000 of the people being evacuated are from Puri, a city in Orissa.
Puri is expected to be the hardest hit by the storm.
Officials have now shut down operations at two major ports on the east coast.
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states are also on high alert.
Meanwhile, all schools and universities in the state have shut.
#CycloneFani #Alert Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani likely to hit #Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri on 3rd May with wind speed of 175-185 kmph gusting up to 205 kmph.
IMD
— NDMA India | राष्ट्रीय आपदा प्रबंधन प्राधिकरण 🇮🇳 (@ndmaindia) April 30, 2019
Indian officials say they have set up more than 850 shelters, which are thought to be able to hold almost one million people.
