With Cyclone Fani moving towards the Odisha coast, the state government on Monday cancelled the leaves of its employees in the three coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri and Kendrapara as a precautionary measure.
At the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took stock of the state administration’s preparedness to deal with the cyclonic storm.
Centred about 840 km east-southeast of Chennai at 11.30 am on April 29, Cyclone Fani is likely to move northwestwards till May 1 and then recurve north-northeastwards towards Odisha coast, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Fani is likely to trigger rainfall in Odisha from May 2, along with be 40-50 km of wind per hour in the coastal districts from the morning hours of May 2, increasing further during the day.
READ | Cyclone Fani: All east coast states put on high alert
Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi has asked the district collectors concerned to remain alert, and keep cyclone and flood shelters ready with all necessary emergency equipment and materials.
Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said the administration would take steps to shift people to safer places.
The departments of health and family welfare and the food supplies and consumer welfare have been asked to keep stocks of essential medicines and food items at the district headquarters.
The Panchayati Raj and drinking water department were also asked to ensure supply of drinking water as per necessity in the marooned areas.
Odisha has 879 multipurpose cyclone shelters retrofitted with lightening arresting systems in its coastal belt, which can accommodate about 1 million people.
According to reports, 252 power boats have been placed with different collectors, and fire stations have been equipped with required search and rescue equipment, while first responder teams have been trained for rescue and relief operations.
(With agency inputs)