Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha’s Puri on Friday, 3 May, submerging several places around the district with heavy rain. Rainfall and cyclonic winds are expected to continue in the entire coastal belt of the state, eventually moving towards West Bengal. Cyclone Fani is also likely to impact parts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Northeast.
The state government has taken several precautionary measures to mitigate the effects of the cyclone. In The Quint’s My Report, citizens have shared their preparations for the cyclone as well as the situation where they currently reside.
Adya Upasana Routray, a Philosophy student at Delhi University, shared a video from her residence in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar. She said,
“Wind speed has increased in the past one hour, suddenly. The window glass of the house in front of my block just broke! There is no electricity since the morning either. As of now, the rain has stopped, but wind speed is much higher than before. As I see from my window, trees and branches have fallen on the colony road, electrical wires have entangled. My mom fears that this cyclone is potentially equal to that of the 1999 Super Cyclone. As I write this, it has started to rain again along with gusting winds. I pray for everyone’s safety.”
She also shared videos shot by her father from their ancestral home in Puri, and another shot by her cousin from Cuttack.
Arya Aradhana, a 12th grade student, shared a video of the gushing wind and heavy rain in front of her house.
“I live in Nimapara, Puri. It has been raining heavily since early morning. The wind speed has increased exponentially and many trees have fallen in my garden. There is no electricity. My parents are busy in sealing the skylights and the way to the terrace so that water doesn't get in. Wind speed is increasing every hour. Our landline is already dead. My grandparents are also with us and all of us are in panic state. The condition getting critical, but we have enough food and drinking water as of now,” she wrote.
Basudev Mahapatra captures the blockade in Ganjam district along NH 5 (from Bhubaneswar towards Berhampur road) due to the uprooting of trees.
Sweta Salapathy sent a video from Bhubaneswar. She says:
“This is the situation in the Khandagiri area. There is a massive storm, big and even deep rooted trees have been uprooted. Asbestos roofs of almost all houses and window panes are broken. Electric poles have fallen too, and so the electricity has been cut off since the morning. After 4 hours of high windspeed, thundering showers also set in flooding in the area. The water is clogging around the houses.”
She added that her family has taken adequate safety measures. “We are keeping adequate drinking water handy. All our cellphones are charged and torches ready. We have also set up temporary barricades and blocks to prevent water logging.”
(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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