Over 1 mn being evacuated as Cyclone Fani intensifies ahead of landfall

In total, about 1.2 million people are expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 15 districts in the eastern state of Odisha

India has accelerated efforts to evacuate more than a million people along its northeast coastline as a cyclone intensifies ahead of landfall on Friday, with thousands of villagers piling household possessions on to trucks before fleeing their homes.

Severe cyclonic storm Fani was churning up the Bay of Bengal about 275 km (171 miles) south-southwest of the Hindu temple town of Puri where special trains were put on to evacuate tourists and the beaches were empty.

In total, about 1.2 million people are expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 15 districts in the eastern state of Odisha to cyclone shelters, schools and other buildings, authorities said. More than 800,000 have left so far. “We are maximising efforts at all levels for evacuation,”

Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters. Cyclone was generating maximum sustained winds of 170-180 km (105-111 miles) per hour, the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Cyclone tracker Tropical Storm Risk rated Fani category 4 storm, a notch below the worst level.

The cyclone fani will make landfall before Friday afternoon, the IMD said. The navy has deployed seven warships and has six planes and seven helicopters on standby along with divers, rubber boats, medical teams and relief materials. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that the central government will provide all possible assistance.

Authorities have also shut down operations at Paradip, Dhamra and Visakhapatnam ports. In Paradip, television footage showed residents piling bicycles, sewing machines and gas cylinders on to small trucks and leaving for any of nearly 900 shelters supplied with food, water and medicines.