Massive restoration works were underway across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by “extremely severe” Cyclone Fani that pounded the coastal state of Odisha. At least 16 people were killed in Odisha due to the Cyclone Fani, that made landfall in Puri on Friday. The extremely severe cyclonic storm, classified by meteorologists as powerful as a category 5 hurricane, unleashed heavy rains in the coastal parts of the state with winds up to 240 kmph.
Nearly one crore people were affected in one of the “rarest of the rare” summer cyclones – the first in Odisha in the last four decades. It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.
The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday—four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is busy in his party's election campaign, said that he spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured full support from the Centre.
"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.
Not much damage in West Bengal
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that there was no much damage in West Bengal due to Cyclone Fani, which made landfall in Odisha's Puri and moved towards the state. After making landfall, the Cyclone weakened gradually on Saturday morning and was headed twards Bangladesh.
The entire administration was awake the whole night. We were very worried about the cyclone,” Banerjee said. She had cancelled her election programmes and stayed put at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation.
“There was not much damage in the state. At least 850 mud houses in the districts were partially damaged, while 12 were destroyed,” the chief minister said.
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