Idol at entrance of Puri's Jagannath temple damaged by Cyclone Fani

An idol at the entrance the historic Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri was damaged because of Cyclone Fani that made a landfall in the temple town on Friday. the idol of one of the 'dwarpals' or gatekeepers was damaged. Jaya and Vijaya were the gatekeepers of the abode of Vishnu, known as Vaikuntha. According to the temple priests, this is the first time ever that an idol on the temple premises was damaged.

Cyclone 'Fani' rolled through Odisha on Friday, packing rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, leaving at least three people dead, blowing away thatched houses, and swamping towns and villages.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' or the 'Hood of Snake' made landfall around 8 am In Puri, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said three people were reported dead in different incidents in Puri, Nayagarh and Kendrapara districts.

While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district.

The cyclonic system, whose eye is around 28 km wide, is moving at around 30 kmph, Biswas said. But within the system, the winds are reaching speeds of up to 175 kilometers per hour that may go up to 200 kmph, leaving in their wake uprooted trees and thatched structures, including in the state capital Bhubaneswar.