Cyclone Fani: India evacuates 800,000 from coastal areas

India has begun the evacuation of 800,000 people and deployed emergency personnel as the country’s east coast braces for a severe cyclonic storm.

Tropical Cyclone Fani gathers force in the Bay of Bengal.
It is set to hit the east coast of India on Friday. 

Tropical Cyclone Fani, located in the Bay of Bengal and packing wind speeds up to 205 km (127 miles) per hour, is expected to make landfall on the coast of Odisha state on Friday.

The state’s authorities said they hoped to have evacuated 800,000 people from the state’s coastal districts by Thursday morning.

Odisha has also moved in thousands of disaster management personnel to help those living in mud-and-thatch homes in low-lying areas take shelter from Fani.

Read the story from The Guardian - “Cyclone Fani: India evacuates 800,000 from coastal areas.”