CYCLONE FANI: Current Situation

• More than 1 Million people have been evacuated to 880 cyclones shelters set-up in 14 districts of Odisha.
• About 5000 kitchens started operating to serve people in the shelters.
• A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
• The state government of West Bengal has taken precautionary measures for districts like East and West Midnapore, both North and South 24 Parganas besides, Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram and Kolkata and Sundarbans to avert any untoward incident.
• A red alert has been sounded in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh after heavy rain and gusty winds. About 20,000 people were evacuated to 126 relief camps.
• National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 28 teams in Odisha, 12 in Andhra Pradesh and 6 in West Bengal for relief and rescue work. Over 30 additional teams are on standby with boats, tree cutters, telecom equipment’s as per the official report.
• The Indian Railways cancelled 89 trains and Air flights has been suspended.
• Eight rescue teams, four each are positioned at Visakhapatnam and Chennai. Two ships are ready at both the locations for immediate mobilisation after the cyclone. Two Chetak helicopters are also ready to transport relief material, said the chief of Coast Guard East.
• Indian Air Force has been alerted. 

Following districts are expected to be affected by the cyclone in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh state:

The office of the Chief Minister is directly overseeing the humanitarian response preparedness. The Chief Secretary of the state is leading the response through the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management which hosts the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) and other line departments at the state level through office of the district collectors. Five senior IAS officers are deployed in most vulnerable costal districts.

There are no reports of large scale eventualities except for 6 deaths* reported so far, however, considering the force of the cyclone, following are the expected damage/vulnerabilities:

• Large scale damage to infrastructure like shelters, homes, hospitals, schools, Early Childhood Development Centers etc.
• Structural damage to public and private properties. Damage to structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar has been reported.
• Damage to livestock, livelihoods, farm lands, fishing boats etc. Cyclonic wind damaged summer crops, plantations, orchards in Odisha.
• There is possibility of water borne diseases risking both humans and Livestock.