Navy on guard as Fani develops into 'severe cyclone'; likely to become 'extremely severe' before making landfall at Odisha, says IMD

The Indian Navy said early on Tuesday that it is prepared to provide assistance in case of any emergency that might arise after cyclone Fani makes a landfall. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed that the cyclone intensified into “severe cyclone” at 5:30 pm on 29 April and could take the shape of an “extremely severe cyclone” by Thursday, while moving towards the Odisha coast.

Severe Cyclonic ‘FANI’ is very likely to intensify into a Very Severe Cyclonic during next 12 hrs & into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic during subsequent 24 hrs. To move northwestwards till 01st May evening and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards towards Odisha Coast. pic.twitter.com/8JrTkkiH6b

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) April 29, 2019

The government has put the National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Coast Guard on high alert. The navy has kept ships with adequate divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material on stand by, reported ANI.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country’s top body to deal with emergency situations, has also assured state governments of all assistance from the Centre. The NCMC met in New Delhi on Monday, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha and took stock of the situation. Chief secretaries, principal secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal attended the meeting through video conference.

The NCMC will meet again on Tuesday to take fresh stock of the situation.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Public Health of Odisha, Hara Prasad Pattanaik, has also alerted all chief district medical and public health officers. The storm is expected to make landfall on 3 May at 5.30 pm and reach Odisha’s Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Ganjam, Puri, Khorda, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, and Keonjhar districts.

The Odisha government has directed the State Disaster Management Authority to keep a close watch on the situation and has asked concerned departments to stay prepared to deal with any challenges.

According to the IMD’s forecast, Fani is located 880 km southeast of Chennai as it continues to move northwest and is predicted to change its path to northeast from Wednesday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and BrahMos Aerospace have put on hold the test-firing of the air-launched version of a supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft.

Fishermen in coastal areas have been advised to not venture into the sea. In Odisha, the government has asked fishermen who are out in deep sea areas to return to the coast by Tuesday night.

With inputs from agencies