Bhubaneswar: Panic has gripped the people of Odisha, as the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani has moved closer to the coast.
As informed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its mid-day weather bulletin on Wednesday, the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani over the west-central and adjoining south-west Bay of Bengal has moved north-west with a speed of about 10kmph in the last six hours and lay centred over the west-central and adjoining south-west Bay of Bengal about 660 km south-southwest of Puri (Odisha) and 400 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). It is very likely to move north-west in the next 12 hours and thereafter recurve north-north-east and cross the Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri, around the afternoon on May 3 with maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180kmph, with gusting up to 200kmph.
Quoting a report by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), the US Department of Defence agency, which issues tropical cyclone warnings for the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi told mediapersons on Monday that cyclone ‘Fani’ was likely to cross Odisha through Satpada and Balukhand area in Puri district on the afternoon of May 3. After making landfall, the cyclone was likely to enter Bengal after passing through the coasts of Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.
According to Skymet Weather Services (a private Indian company that provides weather forecast and solutions), Fani is centred about 660km south-southwest of Puri and 410km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. By May 2, the cyclonic storm will reach further north and start re-curving towards north/northeast and move closer to north Andhra Pradesh coast. By May 3, the extremely severe cyclonic storm will move further towards Odisha and was very likely to make landfall between the coasts of Gopalpur and Chandbali.
