May 3, 2019, 8:02 PM IST
The extremely severe tropical cyclone Fani hit the coastal areas of Odisha this morning with high velocity winds of around 175 km. Cyclone Fani has also triggered heavy rainfall in the northern coastal parts of Andhra Pradesh. The Army, Navy, Coast Guard and disaster management agencies are on a high alert for rescue operations, if needed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured people that the Government has taken all preventive measures and is ready to provide assistance. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to the people to not panic.
The Ministry of Power has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with the least downtime.
The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry has planned to move additional water supplies to the affected areas. They have already kept packaged drinking water ready.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has kept in readiness packaged food.
The Health Ministry is ready with 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs.
The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS of cyclone related messages.