Cyclone Fani likely to become ‘extremely severe’; heading towards Odisha

Amaravathi: Cyclone Fani is expected to hit the coasts of Odisha on May 3 and is likely to intensify into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' with wind gusting up to 200 kmph at the time of landfall. The Central and the state governments have reached out to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the armed forces to be on standby and have also been put on high alert. About 800,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas of 14 districts in Odisha. Presently, the cyclonic storm is around 400 km off the Odisha coast.