Cyclone Fani: Three killed as storm batters Odisha, PM Modi says Rs 1,000 crore released in advance

Three people were killed in separate incidents as cyclone Fani battered the Odisha coast on Friday, officials said. A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district. Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her.

In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter, official information reaching Bhubaneswar. Fani, an extremely severe cyclonic storm lashed the Odisha coast Friday morning, uprooting trees, blowing away thatched huts, and disrupting communication links. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said more than Rs 1,000 crore had been released in advance for the states affected by Cyclone Fani. Addressing an election rally in Hindaun City of Rajasthan, he said the government was with the people in times of crises. A detailed review meeting was held and he had been given the latest updates on Fani, Modi said as the extremely severe cyclonic storm hit Odisha on Friday morning.

 "Lakhs of families are affected by a cyclone in the coastal areas of Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the Centre is in touch with the state governments. I got the latest update from officers sometime ago and also held a detailed review meeting yesterday. More than Rs 1,000 crore have been released in advance," Modi told the rally in Rajasthan's Hindaun town, located in Karauli district.

 He added that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Coast Guard, the Navy and the Army were engaged in the relief works. "I want to assure the people of the cyclone-hit states that the entire country and the Centre are standing by the affected families and the state governments," Modi said.

(With PTI inputs)