Photo gallery: Cyclone Fani hits lands in Odisha, lakhs evacuated

Cyclonic storm Fani, which has been churning up the Bay of Bengal, landed in Odisha on Friday morning around 8 am. The cyclone is likely to hit 15 districts in Odisha. "The impact of landfall process has started. Fani will make a landfall between 8-11 am. In the morning at 6:31 AM it was 70 km south-southwest of Puri, it is moving now," said R Biswas, Director, Met Dept, Bhubaneswar.

Authorities have evacuated over a million people living along its east coast ahead of an extremely severe cyclone that is due to make landfall on Friday afternoon, government officials said. The state has deployed hundreds of disaster management personnel, closed schools and colleges and asked doctors and other health officials not to go on leave until May 15. (Reuters photo)  

As of 8 a.m., the diameter of the storm`s eye was 30 km and was moving at a speed of 18 kmph, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

 

About 10,000 villages and 52 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are likely to be affected by the cyclonic storm.

 

Strong winds measuring up to 180 kmph lashed the state, leading to the uprooting of trees.

 

The state government has advised people not to step out of their houses. 

 

Rescue and relief operations are currently underway.