Thousands evacuated as India awaits cyclone
India has evacuated more than 300,000 people along its northeast coastline by boat, bus and train ahead of a severe cyclone due to make landfall on Friday, with many villagers piling household possessions on to trucks before fleeing homes.
Severe cyclonic storm Fani was churning up the Bay of Bengal about 420km south-southwest of the Hindu temple town of Puri, where special trains were put on to evacuate tourists and the beaches were empty.
About 1.2-million people are expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 15 districts in the eastern state of Odisha to cyclone shelters, schools and other buildings, authorities said. “We are maximising efforts at all levels for evacuation,” Odisha’s special relief commissioner, Bishnupada Sethi, told Reuters.
Fani was generating maximum sustained winds of 170180km/h, the state-run India Meteorological Department said. Cyclone tracker Tropical Storm Risk rated Fani a mid-range category 3 storm.
Authorities have also shut down operations at two major ports Paradip and Visakhapatnam and ships have been ordered to move out to avoid damage. In Paradip, TV footage showed residents piling bicycles, sewing machines and gas cylinders on to small trucks and leaving for any of nearly 900 shelters supplied with food, water and medicines.
Odisha state government has deployed hundreds of disaster management staff, closed schools and colleges and asked doctors and other health officials not to go on leave until May 15.
India’s cyclone season can last from April to December when severe storms batter coastal cities and cause widespread deaths and damage to crops and property in both India and neighbouring Bangladesh.
Technological advancements have helped meteorologists to predict weather patterns well in advance, giving authorities more time to prepare.
In 1999, a supercyclone battered Odisha for 30 hours, killing 10,000. Mass evacuation of nearly a million people saved thousands of lives in 2013.
The National Disaster Response Force has sent 50 teams to four coastal states, including Odisha. It has put 32 teams with boats, tree cutters, medical supplies, telecoms gear and other gear on standby.