Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha on Friday morning
Highlights
- Video shows a crane, unable to withstand strong winds, falling on houses
- It is not known yet if there were occupants in the affected houses
- Three people have died as Cyclone Fani barreled into Odisha this morning
Cyclone Fani, the most severe cyclonic storm to have hit India in decades, is pounding the states that lie on the eastern coast of the country. One of the biggest sufferers of the storm's fury is Odisha, where 10,000 people had died in 1999 due to the infamous Super Cyclone. Mighty trees have been uprooted, electricity poles have been destroyed, not even the massive steel crane is any match to the devastating power of the storm.
A crane installed at an under-construction sky-scrapper collapsed on Friday. The crane couldn't withstand gusting winds of upto over 200 km/hour as it crashed on the houses facing the building. It is not known yet if there were occupants in the houses.
In another video, the roof of a building at AIIMS Bhubaneswar is ripped off.
(Video Credit: Surendra Panigrahi)
Three people have died as Cyclone Fani barreled into Odisha this morning. Large areas in the temple town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rain battered the coast, according to officials.
The cyclonic storm - the strongest cyclone in India in 20 years - is weakening gradually, moving towards West Bengal. The Odisha government has evacuated over 11 lakh people, including at least 600 pregnant women, to camps on higher grounds.
"I assure the affected people that the nation and the centre are with them," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Rajasthan. He said over Rs. 1,000 crore had been released in advance for the states affected by Cyclone Fani.
A red alert was sounded in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam after heavy rain and gusty winds uprooted trees and electricity poles. About 20,000 people were shifted to 126 relief camps in Srikakulam.
Over 147 trains have been cancelled till tomorrow. Three special trains were run from Puri to Howrah and Shalimar in West Bengal yesterday to facilitate the evacuation of tourists.