Tourists asked to leave Puri as cyclone 'Fani' approaches Odisha

The Odisha government on Wednesday advised tourists to leave the seaside pilgrim town of Puri in view of the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' moving closer to Odisha coast, a senior official said.

It has also ordered closure of all educational institutions in the state.

The India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin that 'Fani' (pronounced as Foni) is likely to cross the Odisha coast near Satapada in Puri district on Friday afternoon with a maximum sustained speed of 175-185 kmph and gusting up to 205 kmph.

The wind speed of a cyclonic storm is 80-90 kmph gusting up to 100 kmph. In case of an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm', the wind speed goes up to 170-180 kmph and could gain the speed of 195-200 kmph.

The IMD has issued its 'yellow warning' for the Odisha coast and suggested total suspension of fishing activities, extensive evacuation from coastal areas and diversion or suspension of rail and road traffic.

A yellow warning indicates severely bad weather, warning people who are at risk to take preventive action.

"All educational establishments should declare holiday from May 2 till further orders and the examinations should be rescheduled," Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

With 'Fani' likely to hit the coast near Puri, tourists have been advised to leave the town by Wednesday evening, the SRC said.

Non-essential travel to the districts, likely to be affected by the cyclone, may be cancelled during May 3-4, Sethi said.

With tidal waves likely to inundate vast areas in the coastal districts, evacuation of people from all low-lying and vulnerable areas will be completed on Thursday, he said.

Citing the latest forecast by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), the SRC said, 'Fani' is expected to cross the coast near Puri on May 3 afternoon before landfall.

It is then likely to pass through Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj in Odisha before entering West Bengal, he said.

Meanwhile, the cyclone has moved northwestwards with a speed of about 10 kmph and lay centred over west central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, about 680 km south-southwest of Puri and 430 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). I