Cyclone Fani to 'weaken further' in next 6 hours, lay centred over Bangladesh: IMD

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Cyclone Fani has weakened and is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of the cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal," said Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations, NDRF.

Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching the speed of 200 kmph, and left three people dead and over 160 injured. It also left behind a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Air India on Saturday announces the recommencement of its operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport.

On the other hand, for the convenience of passengers, the Railways has decided to run a special train from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, today evening. This Special Train will leave Bhubaneswar at 7 pm and will reach Bangalore at 1.35 am on May 6.

It will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nandayal, Guntakal and Dharmavaram between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.