'Baby Fani' born in Odisha railway hospital as cyclone slams coast

A baby was born in an Odisha railway hospital as the extremely severe storm wreaked its havoc on Friday and her name came to officials in a flash -- she could only be Lady Fani for them. The baby was born at 11.03 am in the railway hospital in Mancheswar, barely five km from the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, officials said.

As Cyclone Fani raged outside, the doctors maintained their calm and delivered her safely, they said. The child, born to a 32-year-old railway employee working as a helper at the Coach Repair Workshop, Mancheswar, and the mother are doing fine, said officials of the Bhubaneswar-headquartered East Coast Railways (ECoR).

Bhubaneswar: A 32-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl in Railway Hospital today at 11:03 AM. Baby has been named after the cyclonic storm, Fani. The woman is a railway employee, working as a helper at Coach Repair Workshop, Mancheswar. Both the mother&child are fine. #Odisha pic.twitter.com/xHGTkFPlAe

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

Packing heavy rains and winds with speeds of up to 175 kmph, Fani slammed into the Odisha coast Friday morning.

"Baby made landfall at 11.03. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit. This was the mother's first baby and both of them are doing fine. The hospital suffered some damage," ECoR spokesperson JP Mishra told PTI.

"She was born as the cyclone wreaked havoc and it was raining heavily. The doctors kept their calm and delivered her," Mishra added.  It is not clear if the parents want to name her Fani. 

The word 'Fani' means a snake's hood and it was suggested by Bangladesh, said Mritunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of the IMD.