--- description: Cyclone Fani is forecast to touch down in Odisha, along India's eastern coast, on Friday afternoon title: India: Mass Evacuations as 'Extremely Severe' Cyclone Nears image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec76a4896eb4dfc1/69894953db2987d6b7262421/cyclone-fani-india.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [India](/tag/india/) ## India Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # India Orders Mass Evacuations as 'Extremely Severe' Cyclone Nears by [Hillary Leung](/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2019 4:50 AM CUT  Fishermen prepare to shore their boats ahead of Cyclone Fadi's landfall in Puri, located in the east India state of Odisha, on May 1, 2019. Fishermen prepare to shore their boats ahead of Cyclone Fadi's landfall in Puri, located in the east India state of Odisha, on May 1, 2019.NurPhoto—NurPhoto via Getty Images by [Hillary Leung](/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2019 4:50 AM CUT Authorities are issuing mass evacuation orders along India’s eastern coast as Cyclone Fani, a [Category 4 equivalent](https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/more-than-100-million-in-the-path-of-life-threatening-cyclone-fani/70008144 "undefined") hurricane, approaches landfall with more than 100 million in its path. [According to](http://www.imd.gov.in/alerts/20190501%5Fal%5F808.pdf "undefined") the India Meteorological Department, Fani has been classified as an “Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm.” It is forecast to move inland at wind speeds as high as 130 mph on Friday and touch down in Puri in Odisha state. > [](https://twitter.com/Indiametdept/status/1123791014903332865) Around 800,000 people are to be evacuated to safety by Thursday evening, local broadcaster NDTV [reported](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/cyclone-fani-defence-forces-on-standby-evacuations-are-on-in-coastal-districts-of-odisha-2031649 "undefined"). Total suspension of fishing operations [has been advised](http://www.imd.gov.in/alerts/20190501%5Fal%5F808.pdf "undefined") and boating activity also discouraged. Cyclone Fani [may be](https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2019-04-30-cyclone-fani-live-extremely-severe-storm-odisha-west-bengal "undefined") the strongest storm to hit India’s eastern coast since Storm Hudhud, which killed 124 when it made landfall in Andhra Pradesh in October 2014, and the biggest to form in April in 43 years. Severe cyclones in India [tend to be](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fani-is-indias-strongest-april-cyclone-in-43-years-say-meteorologists/article26995965.ece "undefined") concentrated toward year-end. The Bay of Bengal on the eastern coast has [a history](https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-05-01-deadliest-tropical-cyclone-bhola-cyclone-bay-of-bengal-bangladesh "undefined") of producing deadly tropical storms, with the 1999 super cyclone that hit Odisha killing [more than](http://world.time.com/2013/10/13/preparedness-pays-off-in-advance-of-indias-cyclone-phailin/ "undefined") 10,000 people. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5581606/cyclone-fani-odisha-india/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5581606/cyclone-fani-odisha-india/"},"headline":"India Orders Mass Evacuations as 'Extremely Severe' Cyclone Nears","datePublished":"2019-05-02T04:50:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:25:54.513Z","description":"Cyclone Fadi is forecast to make landfall in Odisha, along India's eastern coast, on Friday afternoon","url":"https://time.com/5581606/cyclone-fani-odisha-india/","keywords":["India","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec76a4896eb4dfc1/69894953db2987d6b7262421/cyclone-fani-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hillary Leung","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec76a4896eb4dfc1/69894953db2987d6b7262421/cyclone-fani-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"India Cyclone Fani","caption":"India Cyclone Fani","creditText":"NurPhoto—NurPhoto via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/india/","name":"India"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5581606/cyclone-fani-odisha-india/","name":"India Orders Mass Evacuations as 'Extremely Severe' Cyclone Nears"}}]}] ```