'Extremely severe' cyclone 'Fani' to hit south of Puri Friday: NDMA

Extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is approaching India's eastern coast, is likely to hit Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri in Odisha on Friday, the National Disaster Management Authority said Wednesday.

Heavy rains is also very likely at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.

"Extremely severe" cyclonic storm 'Fani' is likely to hit Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri on May 3 with wind speed of 175-185 km per hour gusting up to 205 kmph, the NDMA said quoting a bulletin of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Gusty wind with speed 40-50 km per hour is expected at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

Gusty wind with speed 30-40 km per hour is also likely at isolated places over Odisha and gangetic West Bengal, the NDMA said.

Navy and Coast Guard ships and helicopters, relief teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in strategic locations, while Army and Air Force units have been put on standby as the cyclonic storm is approaching the coast, officials said.

The NDRF is deploying 41 teams in Andhra Pradesh (8), Odisha (28) and West Bengal (5) for prepositioning. In addition, it is keeping on standby 13 teams in West Bengal and 10 in Andhra Pradesh, an official said.

An NDRF team comprises about 45 personnel.

The Home Ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, said based on the decision of the first meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, the central government has already released advance financial assistance of Rs 1,086 crore to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal to assist them in undertaking preventive and relief measures.

The states have issued advisories and are ensuring that fishermen do not venture into the sea.