Cyclone Fani has been one of the most dreadful cyclone storm to hit the east coast in nearly two decades. “The cyclone has entered the Odisha coast at Puri around 8 am and it will take around three hours for the entire landfall process to be completed,” Director of Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, H R Biswas said. Over 1 million being evacuated as Cyclone Fani intensifies ahead of landfall. On Thursday, the Odisha government evacuated over 11 lakh people from low-lying areas. Navy is scheduled the conduct an aerial survey. A serve cyclone also hit 25 km south of Bhubaneshwar. The Kolkata airport has suspended operations for 18 hours from 3 PM today.

Odisha emergency helpline number is: +916742534177. Here are a few tips from the National Disaster Management Authority of India that’d be helpful:

• Switch off electric mains, gas supplies.
• Keep doors & windows shut.
• If your house is unsafe, leave before the onset of the cyclone.
• Listen to radio/transistor.
• Drink boiled/chlorinated water.
• Rely on official warnings.
• After the cyclone do not enter damaged buildings.
• Watch out for broken electric poles, wires and other sharp objects.
• Seek a safe shelter as soon as possible.
• Fisherman in coastal areas should avoid getting into the sea, have a radio set handy and tie their boats, rafts to safer places.

Additionally, we urge people to stay calm and ignore rumours and keep their phones charged and stay update with the latest information. Keep an emergency kit ready along with important documents and papers in a water proof container. We shall update this article as we get more news.

Our heart goes out to the areas hit by this calamity and we wish for everyone’s safety!