Indian officials started emergency evacuation as a tropical cyclone makes its landfall towards 100 million people in the east coast of the country. It is the strongest cyclone to hit the country within 20 years.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said on Thursday that the Tropical Cyclone Fani gained much power in the Bay of Bengal, has maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour and gusts of wind of up to 305 kilometers per hour.
The cyclone is approximately 60 kilometers off the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states. Fani is comparable in intensity to a category hurricane in the Atlantic. It also equals in strength to a super typhoon in the Pacific. The cyclone is 2 mph away from category 5 which is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Reports said that it is expected to landfall after Friday morning in Odisha which is near the city of Puri. India already experiences cyclone-force winds coming ashore in parts of Andhra Pradesh and along the Odisha coast.
Fani is expected to be 240 kilometers pon hitting the ground and it would be ranked as the strongest cyclone to hit the region since the last one in Odisha in 1999. The cyclone in Odisha resulted in the death of not less than 10,000 people.
Fani is currently classified as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" in India. The Indian government deployed its coast guard and its navy released its ships and helicopters to aid in relief and rescue operations. India's army and air force are on standby in Odisha, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh states.
India's Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that they are canceling flights from Thursday midnight at the Bhubaneswar Airport and for Kolkata Airport from 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
The eleven districts along the coast of Odisha were placed on red alert. The government also provided 900 cyclone shelters to be used for evacuation. Classes were canceled across the state on Thursday and Friday. Government teams go door to door to warn the affected people.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's twitter post, the Central Government is ready to provide all possible assistance that would be required. He offered prayers for the safety and well-being of his citizens.
India expects that Fani will bring large storm surges and strong wind damage to its landfall location. Areas of landfall are expecting inland flood as the cyclone continuous its path.
