Cyclone 'Fani' likely to intensify in next 12 hours, hit Odisha on Friday

Heavy rainfall is very likely over north coastal Andhra Pradesh on Thursday and light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places a day later.

Cyclone 'Fani' is likely to intensify into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' by late night and can hit the Odisha coast by Friday afternoon, the India Meteorological Department said Tuesday.

In its 12 pm bulletin, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said Fani (pronounced as Foni) lays over southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, about 830 km nearly south of Puri (Odisha) and 670 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and about 680 km northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka).

"It is very likely to intensify further into an extremely severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours. It is very likely to move northwestwards till May 1 evening and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards and reach Odisha coast by May 3 afternoon with maximum sustained wind of speed 170-180 kilometers per hour gusting to 200 kmph," the IMD said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Coast Guard were put on high alert and the fishermen were asked not to venture into the sea, the Union Home Ministry said Monday.

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The wind speed of a cyclonic storm is 80-90 kilometres per hour with wind gusting up to 100 kmph. In case of an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm', the wind speed goes up to 170-180 kmph and could gain the speed of 195-200 kmph.

ALSO READ: 'Extremely severe cyclone' Fani headed towards Odisha: All you need to know

Light to moderate rainfall at many places with heavy falls at isolated places is very likely over Kerala, at a few places over north coastal Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next 24 hours.

Heavy rainfall is very likely over north coastal Andhra Pradesh on Thursday and light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places a day later.

Odisha is expected to get light to moderate rainfall at many places from Thursday. South coastal Odisha is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on the same day.

Rainfall is likely to increase at most places with heavy to very heavy rains at a few places with "extremely heavy falls" at isolated places over coastal Odisha and its adjoining districts of interior Odisha on Thursday.

Typhoon Mangkhut: 54 dead, over 250,000 people affected in Philippines

With winds reaching a speed of up to 165 mph, the typhoon, dubbed as the world's strongest storm of the year, had made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday.

At least 54 people were killed in the Philippines on Sunday after Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc in the island nation as the storm continued its devastating path and made landfall in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The typhoon, dubbed as the world's strongest storm of the year, had made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday. With winds reaching a speed of up to 165 mph, the storm sent debris flying, toppling roofs of houses, crashing down trees and flattening huts, CNN reported.

According to government officials on Sunday, 42 people were missing and rescue operations to trace those missing will resume on Monday. Over 250,000 people were affected by the storm across the island nation, forcing them to seek shelter in evacuation centres in the northern Philippines, a region which has seen 51 incidents of landslides.

Harry Rogue, the spokesperson for Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, told CNN that most of the casualties occurred due to landslides in Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Luzon. Duterte also undertook a visit to the affected areas to take stock of the situation and oversee the rescue operations.

Meanwhile, the governor of Benguet province Crescencio Carino Pacalso said that those missing were believed to be miners working in small villages in Itogon municipality.

As Typhoon Mangkhut made landfall in Hong Kong on Sunday, gusty winds sent debris flying, smashing trees, blowing roofs off and led to massive flooding, triggered by storm surge, inundating parts of the city. As of now, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

The storm is expected to dump torrential downpour in Hong Kong and flood warnings have been issued for low-lying areas in the city. Other cities such as Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai were also put on high alert.

Flights were cancelled in Shenzhen and Hainan in anticipation of the storm. According to Chinese media, over 2.45 million people have been evacuated in Guangdong province as the typhoon made landfall at 5 pm (local time) on Sunday.

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