Cyclone Fani batters Odisha, eight dead

A view of the destruction caused by Cyclone Fani after its landfall in Puri

Cyclone 'Fani' barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses, and swamping towns and villages, officials said. Some reports said over 160 people were injured.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' or the 'Hood of Snake' made landfall around 8 AM in Puri, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes.

Though the 'extremely severe' cyclone unexpectedly weakened into 'very severe' cyclonic storm in a matter of few hours, it left a trail of devastation in large parts of coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit. At least eight people have been reported dead so far, senior officials said, adding information was still awaited from many areas.

Uprooted trees being cleared in Bhubaneswar. Pics/PTI

While three people, including a teenage boy, were reported killed in Puri district, three perished in Bhubaneswar and nearby areas. Flying debris from a concrete structure fatally struck a woman in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, official sources said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Puri district, particularly the holy town where the cyclone first hit the land mass, suffered huge damage. "Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he said. Hundreds of engineers and technicians were working on a war-footing to restore power supply.

The cyclonic system, whose eye is around 28 km wide, moved at around 30 kmph, Director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, H R Biswas said. But within the system, the winds reached speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour that gusted up to 200 kmph, leaving in their wake uprooted trees and thatched structures.

As Fani pummelled Odisha, neighbouring West Bengal braced itself for its fury. The sky was overcast in Kolkata and several other places since Friday morning as rain came in spurts, inundating several parts of the capital.

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