Powerful cyclone hits eastern India coast

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Asiyo Ali Leave a comment

The most severe storm in two decades has hit the Indian subcontinent. Fani, which translates to ‘hood of snake’ in Bengali is no stranger to the eastern state of Odisha. The last cyclone that hit the poor state was in 1999 and killed more than 15,000 people. But as wind speeds are up to 175km/h, Indian authorities have responded quicker by evacuating more than 1 million people, deploying emergency, humanitarian aid and putting rescue workers in place.

Cyclone Fani is the fourth storm to the hit the country’s east coast in the last three decades.
Long-term power outages and water shortages could possibly last for weeks to a few months.
Schools and universities have been closed.
At least two people have died after a cyclone made landfall at around 9:30 am.