Tourists planning to visit Odisha, especially Puri, are advised to change their travel plans for now as Cyclone Fani has hit the state today.

Heeding the weather warning issued by the Met officials, the Odisha government called off leaves sanctioned to its officials in Puri, Kendrapara and Ganjam district. Tourists were asked to leave Puri by noon on May 2. The cyclone is expected to hit 10000 villages and 52 towns; 11.5 lakh people have already been moved to safety; Kolkata Airport will also stay shut till 6 PM on Saturday. Apart from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are also in the cyclone range, especially the coastal areas.

According to the information shared by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), officials with Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said that Cyclone Fani is about 840 km off the Chennai coast, and will change its course from May 1. Thereafter, it may possibly move towards Odisha coast and cause heavy to very heavy rain in the state.

As per the IMD officials, Fani would grow into a very severe cyclonic storm between 11:30 AM on May 2 and 11:30 PM on May 3 with the consistent wind speed of 170 -180 km/hour and gusts up to 195 km/hour. The officials also noted that a cyclone during this season is an uncommon phenomenon.

In October 2018, cyclone Titli killed more than 60 civilians in Odisha, damaged thousands of homes and many hectares of land. News also has it that Cyclone Fani may turn out to be the worst cyclone to hit the coastal Odisha in the last 5 years.