Mass Destruction by Cyclone Fani in Odisha!! Cyclone’s effects felt on Mount Everest !!

Cyclone Fani in Odisha

Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 200 kilometers per hour. By Friday night, the storm was over coastal Odisha, according to India’s Meteorological Department, and appeared to be weakening.

Tens of millions of people were in the cyclone’s path. India and Bangladesh each evacuated more than a million people from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh were threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.

The fast-moving storm struck the coast with the force of a major hurricane. Several hours once it created landfall, the cyclone was downgraded to a “very severe” storm from associate degree “extremely severe” storm. At 11:30 p.m. in India, the storm’s center was about 90 miles southwest of Kolkata and moving northeast toward Bangladesh, the meteorological department said.

The cyclone may be packing extra force because of climate change, which has been linked to intensified storms in warm, wet areas as well as a severe drought in drier regions.

Mass evacuation in India and Bangladesh

The Indian authorities evacuated more than a million people from parts of the nation’s eastern coast this week, in what appeared to be an early-warning success story.

Using tv, loudspeakers, radio and text messages to warn residents concerning the risks of the storm, India’s disaster relief agency and meteorological department warned of the “total destruction” to thatched huts in some districts, major injury to roads, the uprooting of power poles and the the potential danger from flying objects.

Cyclone Fani was forecast to drop as much as eight inches of rain on northern parts of the state of Andhra Pradesh and on the state of Odisha.

Schools are closed, fishermen asked to stay off the water and tourists urged to depart the town of Puri, a Hindu pilgrim's journey website wherever associate degree elaborate, the centuries-old temple may be at risk of severe damage. Airports within the cyclone’s path were closing and many trains are canceled.

Along Odisha’s coast, more than 850 storm shelters have been opened, said Bishnupada Sethi, the state’s special relief commissioner. Each will hold concerning one,000 people, along with livestock.

In Bangladesh, Shah Kamal, the disaster management secretary, said that by Friday night more than 1.2 million people in 19 districts had been evacuated to cyclone shelters.

The government there, similarly, suspended fishing operations closed ports and ordered an early harvest of rice crops.

Cyclone’s effects felt on Mount Everest

The cyclone was poignant the weather as distant as mountain peak, where climbers on their way to the summit turned around after conditions worsened.

At Camp 2, 21,000 feet higher than the water level, climbers reported an increase in cloud cover and moisture, and high winds tore apart tents. Many climbers from higher up the mountain began creating their approach right down to Base Camp, at 17,600 feet above sea level.

Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs prohibited helicopters from flying in high mountain areas through the end of the weekend and issued a warning to mountaineers and trekkers on the mountain. More than 1,000 people, as well as climbers, high-altitude guides, support workers and establishment, have reached Mt. Everest Base Camp since the spring ascent the season began in March.

Source: NY Times