Ahmedabad: Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has announced a relief of Rs five crore to Odisha after the extremely dangerous cyclone 'Fani', on Sunday.
"A massive operation was launched in Odisha on Thursday to evacuate over eight lakh people from low-lying coastal areas as the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' moved closer to the eastern coast," officials said.
Around 880 special shelters have been created and Indian Railways has cancelled over 103 trains for safety reasons as the state came to a standstill as a part of preparations to mitigate the impact of 'Fani'.
Several people were killed as Cyclone Fani hit India in 20 years.
It also slammed into the eastern state of Odisha recently, damaging houses and cutting off power, water and telecommunications.
Reportedly, in recent days, the Odisha state authorities evacuated people as a 1.5-metre (five-foot) storm surge was feared to sweep far inland.
Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999 in Odisha.
The Super Cyclone had claimed around 10,000 lives and it battered the Odisha coast for almost 30 hours.
India’s cyclone season can reportedly last from April to December. It can include severe storms battering coastal cities causing widespread deaths and other damages.
Also read: Cyclone Fani: Ferocious winds leave trail of destruction in Odisha
