In pics: Massive evacuation on as Odisha braces for cyclone 'Fani'

Cyclone Fani is likely to cross Puri around noon on Friday and move towards West Bengal before weakening and tapering off

A massive exodus was under way in coastal Odisha on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people left their home and hearth, on foot and by vehicles, to escape the fury of cyclone 'Fani' in probably the largest evacuation ahead of a natural disaster in the country.

Fani is the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of the state, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JWTC).

India Meteorological Department (IMD) sources said it is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity