Cyclone Fani makes landfall in West Bengal's Kharagpur; storm is likely to continue north-east at speed of 90 kmph

Kharagpur: Cyclonic storm Fani, which wreaked havoc in Odisha, has made landfall in West Bengal, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. The cyclonic story crossed Kharagpur and is likely to continue further in north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 kilometres/hour.

Heavy rains along with a wind speed of 175 kilometres per hour battered Odisha as cyclone Fani made landfall close to the temple town of Puri on Friday morning, leaving a trail of destruction in the state.

The impact of the “extremely severe cyclonic storm” was felt in neighbouring West Bengal including in the beach town of Digha and other areas. The cyclone, which crossed Odisha coast close to Puri coast between 8 am and 10 am with a maximum wind speed of around 175 kilometres per hour, caused “huge damage” in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha districts in the state.

Late on Friday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a review meeting with the chief secretary as well as senior officers of the state. Patnaik, while briefing media after the meeting, said over 12 lakh people had been evacuated in 24 hours to safer locations in the state. He also mentioned that officials would take stock of the situation at length once the cyclonic storm crosses Odisha.

According to the IMD, Fani has moved north-northeastwards at 20 kilometres per hour in the last six hours and weakened into a “severe cyclonic storm”.

“It lay centred at 08.30 pm over coastal Odisha about 110 kilometres southwest of Midnapore in West Bengal, 80 kilometres southwest of Digha and 210 kilometres southwest of Kolkata,” said a statement issued by the IMD.

“It is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards during next 12 hours and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 80-90 kilometres per hour gusting to 105 kilometres per hour by the early morning of 4 May,” it added.