Death toll in Odisha due to Cyclone Fani rises to 41; massive damage to power infrastructure

The death toll in Odisha due to Cyclone Fani has reached 41, according to the state government on Wednesday. There has also been massive damage to the power infrastructure in the state particularly in Puri district, Khurda district, Cuttack district, and Kendrapada district, according to Sanjay Singh, the Commissioner and Secretary of Information and Public Relations department.

Singh added that work for the restoration of power infrastructure is being done on a war footing.

Cyclone Fani has affected nearly two crore people in the state, the spokesperson of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, Sangram Mohapatra had said. He had added that the tropical storm, the strongest to hit Odisha in the last two decades, damaged 5.8 lakh houses.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced a release of Rs 1,000 crore for relief measures in the state. This amount is in addition to Rs 341 crore which was sanctioned by Centre to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) before the cyclone hit Odisha.