Cyclone Fani LIVE updates: 3 dead in Odisha, restoration process underway at the International Airport

Visuals of heavy rainfall and strong winds from Digha. Cyclone Fani made its landfall in Puri, Odisha earlier in the day.

SN Pradhan, DG NDRF: As of now, three persons have lost their lives in the cyclone. The precautions that have been taken should be continued.

The eye of cyclonic storm 'Fani' has "completely moved into land" by 10 am on Friday weakening its fury, but heavy rainfall is still predicted in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and parts of the northeastern states, the Home Ministry said Friday.

According to the National Emergency Response Centre, under the home ministry, power and telecommunication lines in Puri district of Odisha are completely down and restoration work is on.

Rescuers belonging to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Air Force have been deployed in a mass operations, closely monitored by the central government.

Due to Cyclone Fani, AIIMS PG exam scheduled on May 5, is cancelled at Bhubaneswar exam centre. Another exam will be conducted for students affected by this cancellation as soon as normalcy returns: Union Health Ministry

Normal life in and around Kolkata was thrown out of gear on Friday as cyclonic storm 'Fani' made landfall in neighbouring Odisha.

Squally winds and rains hit Kolkata leading to waterlogging and traffic congestion. 'Fani' is likely to reach West Bengal by Friday evening. Coastal areas of the state also experienced heavy rains along with strong winds.

"The eye of the storm is likely to be weakened when it enters West Bengal. The wind speed will be around 100 kmph to 110 kmph," an official of the meteorological department said.

Moderate to heavy rains lashed various parts of the city, causing heavy traffic congestion in north and south Kolkata.

Three people were killed in separate incidents as cyclone Fani battered the Odisha coast Friday, officials said.

A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district.

Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her.

In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter, official information reaching here said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled her public rallies scheduled for Friday and advised people not to pay heed to rumours and stay indoors as Cyclone Fani heads towards the state.

The chief minister said, "We are fully alert" and keeping a close watch on the situation.

"I will ask the common people to try to abstain from outdoor activities as much as possible in these two days. And if you have to go out, keep an eye on electric poles and live electric wires. Switch off cable television lines and put off gas cylinders during the storm," Banerjee, who is staying at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation, said.

The state government has sounded an alert to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm.

"Extensive damage to structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar reported due to Cyclone Fani. All patients,staff, students safe. Many water tanks have blown off, lighting poles are down, air conditioners damaged. We have enough supplies, ready to support the state" - Health Secy Preeti Sudan.

Police personnel of Nayapalli police station clear roads in Bhubaneswar. Several trees have been uprooted in the heavy rain and strong winds which hit the region on Friday.

Cyclone Fani has moved away from Andhra Pradesh, so, we have issued a de-warning. 3 districts in the state were impacted by heavy rainfall.

“In the next 3 hours, Cyclone Fani is expected to weaken with a wind speed of 150-160 km per hour, subsequently it will weaken and move north-north eastwards. By evening, it may weaken into severe cyclonic storm over extreme northern part of Odisha,” said Mrityunjay Mohapatra, IMD, Delhi

Another 10 trains were cancelled by East Coast railway today. Number of cancelled trains due to Fani has gone up to 157

The Airports Authority of India on Friday said no flights will take off from and to Kolkata from 3 pm to 8 am tomorrow. The closure time has been revised from the earlier announced 9.30 pm to 6 pm tomorrow.

NDRF team deployed at Digha evacuated total 132 people, including 52 children, from Dattapur and Tajpur. They have been taken to a shelter.

Cyclone Fani expected to hit West Bengal at 8:30 pm on Friday. Kolkata airport to halt operations from 9:30 pm . No flights will land or take off from Kolkata airport between 9:30 pm, May 3 to 6pm, May 4.

Three Indian navy's warships -- Sahyadri, Ranvir and Kadmatt -- with relief material and medical teams are tracking extremely severe cyclone Fani and will be the first responder and start rescue work as soon the storm hits the coast in Odisha.

Thirteen Navy aircraft are at standby in Visakhapatnam to carry out damage assessment and relief distribution requirements

“Have cancelled my rallies for the next 48 hours because of what could be an impending disaster Cyclone Fani. We are monitoring the situation 24x7 and doing all it takes. I appeal to all people to cooperate. Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days,” tweeted Mamata Banerjee.

Eye of Cyclone Fani has completely moved into land by 1000 hrs IST. 48 NDRF teams are engaged in rescue and road clearing operations in Puri and Khurda districts

Heavy rainfall and strong winds hit Ganjam as Fani cyclone hits Puri coast with wind speed of above 175km/per hour.

Winds in Puri, Odisha are blowing at a maximum speed of 240-245 km per hour and heavy to very heavy rains are continuing over the Odisha coast. After landfall, the impact is likely to reduce and it is likely to move towards West Bengal coast.

13 Navy aircraft are at standby in Visakhapatnam to carry out damage assessment and relief distribution requirements.

“Landfall process started around 8 AM and is expected to complete within 2 hrs. Then it's expected to move north-north eastwards, covering all dists in coastal Odisha, towards WB. Wind speed of 35 km/hr recorded in latest updates at 9 AM & it'll increase, said R Shukla, IMD Paradip, Odisha

Extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' made a landfall in Puri on Odisha coast Friday morning, triggering heavy rainfall coupled with high velocity winds with speed of 175 kmph in vast areas.

Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged with water as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state. Several trees were uprooted and thatched structures destroyed at some places including Bhubaneswar.

"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.

Extremely severe cyclone Fani landfall started at 8 AM. Some of the portion of the eye has already entered land area. It'll take 2 more hrs to complete landfall process. Landfall position is close to Puri. It'll continue upto 10.30 AM.

Preparing for the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 Disaster Relief Teams at Vizag, Chennai, Paradip, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata besides four Coast Guard ships at Vizag and Chennai

The landfall process of extremely severe Cyclone Fani began nearly at 8 am Friday close to Puri in Odisha, with the area recording a wind speed of 175 kilometres per hour, the IMD said.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, in-charge of the Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department, said the process of landfall will continue for the next three hours.

The area along Puri is witnessing winds with a speed of 145 kilometres per hour that could reach up to 180-200 kmph, which could bring an "extensive damage", he said.

A cyclone making a landfall implies that the first arm of the cyclone has reached the land. The eye of the cyclone, which is calm, is nearly 30 kilometres.

Bhubaneswar- (0674-2303060, 2301525, 2301625)

Khurda Road (0674-2490010, 2492511, 2492611)

Sambalpur (0663- 2532230, 2533037, 2532302)

Visakhapatnam – (0891- 2746255, 1072)

Puri- 06752-225922

Bhadrak- 06784-230827

Cuttack- 0671-2201865

Berhampur- 0680-2229632

Many parts, particularly low lying areas of Puri town have been submerged in water. Satapada and Panaspada area of brahmagiri block has been severely affected. No loss of life reported

4000 NDRF personnel on high alert in Odisha as the state braces for Cyclone Fani. 10,000 villages and 52 urban local bodies evacuated.

At least one million people have been evacuated in the last 24 hours from the vulnerable districts in Odisha ahead of Cyclone Fani's landfall in the state on Friday, officials said.

The highest number of people -- 3 lakh -- was evacuated from Ganjam district while 1.3 lakh people have been evacuated from Puri district, said an official from the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office.

About ten thousand villages and fifty-two Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are likely to be affected by cyclonic storm Fani.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Fani, which has turned into an extremely severe cyclonic storm, laid centred about 110 km away from Puri at 4.30 a.m.

“The impact of landfall process has started. Fani will make a landfall between 8-11 am. In the morning at 6:31 AM it was 70 km south-southwest of Puri, it is moving now,” said HR Biswas, Director, Met Dept, Bhubaneswar

It has further been decided to cancel 10 more trains - 7 trains on 3rd May, one train on 4th May, one train on 6th May & one train on 7th May. Railways had earlier cancelled 147 trains from 1st to 3rd May.

Strong winds and rainfall hit Puri. CycloneFani is expected to make a landfall in Puri district today. Visuals from near Puri Beach.

Cyclone Fani, which is expected to make a landfall at the Odisha coast by Friday forenoon, was nearly 65 kilometres from Gopalpur and 80 kilometres from Puri at 5.30 am, the IMD said.

The Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department said the wind speed of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani could reach 200-230 kilometres when it makes the landfall.

"According to our last update on location at 5.30 am, Cyclone Fani was 65 kilometres from Gopalpur and 80 kilometres from Puri, " said an official.

The cyclone is moving at a speed of 16 kilometres per hour, the IMD said.

All flights from Odisha capital Bhubaneswar have already been cancelled from midnight as the extremely severe cyclone nears the state's coast, south of temple town Puri.

Fani likely to hit Odisha coast between Gopalpur & Chandbali around Puri tomorrow forenoon, May 3

Sangram Mohapatra, Spokesperson, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority said, “Landfall which was expected to be at 5:30 pm tomorrow, is now expected between 12 pm-2 pm. All colleges and soft business establishments will be closed tomorrow.”

With less than 24 hours left for Cyclone Fani to make landfall in neighbouring Odisha coast, the West Bengal government and civic bodies on Thursday worked on war footing to cope with the storm set to travel across state starting early Saturday.

The state government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation are bracing for a severely stormy weekend. During the day decision was taken to shift people living in low lying areas to safer places. Schools were asked to prepone summer vacations as Fani hovered around 835 km southwest of Kolkata and 650 km south-southwest of Digha.

"We have heard that the cyclone has turned towards Bengal and it will also hit Kolkata. But people should not panic unnecessarily. All precautionary steps are being taken to prevent any loss of life," city mayor Firhad Hakim told the reporters.

The Railways on Thursday said around 95 trains have been cancelled in the last two days in view of the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is likely to affect Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, while three special trains have been pressed into service to ferry stranded passengers from affected areas.

The national transporter said it will grant full refund to passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if tickets are produced for cancellation within three days from the scheduled date of journey.

The Railways had cancelled 81 trains on Wednesday.

Over 4,000 specialised personnel as part of 81 NDRF teams have been deployed to deal with the 'extremely severe' cyclone 'Fani' which is likely to affect Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal upon its landfall on Friday.

NDRF chief S N Pradhan told PTI that about 50 teams have been pre-positioned in the coastal areas of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal which are feared to be affected while another 31 teams have been kept on standby.

All GoAir flights in and out from Bhubaneswar Airport (BBI) stands cancelled for 03 May 2019.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-positioned its 54 rescue and relief teams along the seacoast and in flood prone areas of Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Jharkhand, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness for Cyclone Fani.

The prime minister was briefed on the likely path of the cyclone, and the ongoing precautionary and preparatory measures being undertaken, official sources said.

The Railways Thursday said around 89 trains have been cancelled in the last two days in view of the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is likely to affect Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, while three special trains have been put into service to ferry stranded passengers from affected areas.

The national transporter said it will grant full refund to passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if tickets are produced for cancellation within three days from the scheduled date of journey.

The Railways had cancelled 81 trains on Wednesday.

People at Puri beach warned against venturing into the sea as Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall in Puri district on Friday.

Concerns have been raised by a senior wildlife official on the safety of spotted deer in Balukhand sanctuary, in view of the likely landfall of Cyclone Fani close to the place on Friday.

The sanctuary is located along the Bay of Bengal coast, between the towns of Puri and Konark in Odisha.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) A K Mohapatra told PTI, the fate of about 3,000 spotted deer in the sanctuary has become uncertain as wild animals cannot be shifted to safe places like human beings.

The Assam government has made special train arrangements to bring back pilgrims from the state who got stranded in Puri in Odisha due to cyclonic storm 'Fani'

In light of expected cyclone Fani, Air Vistara airlines said that on May 2 and 3, the airline will waive change and cancellation fee for Bhubaneswar and Kolkata flights for travel between May 2 to May 5.

Due to the Cyclonic storm 'Fani', six trains, scheduled to run between the south Indian states and Assam were cancelled on May 2 by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), an official said.

The NDRF has deployed 28 teams in Odisha, 12 in Andhra Pradesh and six teams in West Bengal for relief and rescue work. Over 30 additional teams are on standby with boats, tree cutters, telecom equipment said officials.

India's biggest oil and gas producer ONGC has evacuated close to 500 of its employees from offshore installations in the Bay of Bengal and moved drilling rigs to safer locations ahead of an impending cyclone that is expected to make landfall on Friday.

India's eastern coast is dotted with oil and gas installations including three refineries and numerous rigs and offshore platforms that are used to explore and produce oil and gas.

Sources privy to the development said while operations at Paradip port in Odisha and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh have been shut and ships have been ordered to move out to sea to avoid damage, the refineries are operating but with all precautions in place.

India's biggest oil and gas producer ONGC has evacuated close to 500 of its employees from offshore installations in the Bay of Bengal and moved drilling rigs to safer locations ahead of an impending cyclone that is expected to make landfall on Friday.

India's eastern coast is dotted with oil and gas installations including three refineries and numerous rigs and offshore platforms that are used to explore and produce oil and gas.

Sources privy to the development said while operations at Paradip port in Odisha and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh have been shut and ships have been ordered to move out to sea to avoid damage, the refineries are operating but with all precautions in place.

Due to the cyclonic storm 'Fani', six trains, scheduled to run between the south Indian states and Assam were cancelled on Thursday by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), an official said.

According to the NFR Chief Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma, the plying of the six specified trains have been cancelled between May 2 and May 7.

The cancelled trains are, Silchar--Thiruvananthapuram Central Express, Thiruvananthapuram Central - Silchar Express, Guwahati -- Secunderabad Express, Secunderabad - Guwahati Express, Dibrugarh -Tambaram Express and the Tambaram - Dibrugarh Express.

All authorities concerned have been alerted so that they are ready to deal with cyclone Fani, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Thursday.

Fani is expected to hit the Odisha coast on Friday. Other states on the eastern coast, such as West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are also expected to be affected by it.

"Alerted all concerned to be ready to deal with Cyclone Fani. Airport Authority of India issued alert to all coastal airports to ensure all precautions, SOPs (standard operating procedures) put in place immediately," Prabhu tweeted.

The Airports Authority of India owns and manages more than 100 airports across India.

Prabhu said the situation would be monitored at highest level. "Airlines and all others to be fully ready," he added.

Airport Authority of India has issued an alert to all coastal airports to ensured that all precautions and SOPs are put in place immediately, in the view of Cyclone Fani.