Cyclone Fani, which has turned into an “extreme severe cyclonic” storm, is about 450 km from the Odisha coast, the India Meteorological Department or IMD said in an early morning tweet. It said that the cyclonic storm – also pronounced ‘FONI’ – is moving northwards with a speed of 5 kms per hour in last six hours and is likely to make landfall at Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali anytime after tomorrow afternoon, with wind speed of up to 200 km per hour.
Nineteen districts of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are likely to be hit by cyclone Fani. East Coast Railway cancelled 22 trains on Wednesday, taking the total to 103 trains.
IMD has issued a “Yellow Alert” warning for Odisha, West Bengal and three districts of Andhra Pradesh. In a special bulletin issued yesterday, the weather department has forewarned about possible destruction. Fishermen have been asked not to venture out for fishing from May 1 to May 5.