Cyclone Fani, classified by the India Meteorological Department as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, made landfall over Odisha between 8 am and 10 am on Friday morning. It weakened into a very severe cyclonic storm at around 11.30 am and is expected to move north along the coast towards Kolkata over the course of the day, even as it gradually reduces in intensity.

Fani is unusual for this time of year. While cyclones in the Bay of Bengal form between April and May and between September and December, cyclones of this severity usually develop in the latter half of the year.

As the meteorological department issued warnings to Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, the states began to prepare for evacuations and mitigating the cyclone’s impact. And on social media, users have been uploading videos and photographs of the storm, even as meteorologists share updates of satellite images and other tracking.

Credit: Nithya Subramanian

Landfall

When the cyclone made landfall south of Puri, its intense winds, gusting up to 180 kilometres per hour, uprooted trees and ripped off roofs. Videos shared on social media showed trees swaying and causing damage to structures in some places, including Bhubaneswar. According to NDTV, several areas in the coastal town of Puri were submerged due to the heavy rain.

Preparation for the storm

Meteorologists from the United States and other parts of the world have also been tracking the progress of Fani closely, tweeting updates about the cyclone’s path and its projected intensity. One user tweeted a timelapse satellite video of the cyclone developing over three days.

Evacuation

Government agencies have been sharing images of relief efforts and appealing to people to stay indoors and avoid stunt videos.