Cyclonic Fani to be second severe cyclone to make landfall after 1999 Supercyclone

New Delhi, May 02: Cyclone Fani, which has turned into an "extreme severe cyclonic" storm, is only a tad weaker than the 1999 Super Cyclone that killed nearly 10,500 people in Odisha.

Fani is the first severe cyclonic storms to have formed in April since 1976. Also it is the second severe April cyclone to make landfall in India in 118 years.

In the last 30 years, only four extremely severe cyclonic storms have made landfall on Odisha and West Bengal coast. If Fani maintains the intensity as forecast, it might be the fifth. The cyclone might turn out to be the strongest to hit the eastern coast since Hudhud.

A super cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people, mostly in Odisha, and affected 20 million others.The Government of India declared a national disaster in the aftermath of the cyclone, though international appeals were initially unanticipated. The destruction wrought by the cyclone was expected to cause a six-month-long total loss of normal livelihood.

Damage sustained to various sanitation infrastructure led to a heightened risk of communicable disease outbreaks; indeed, diarrhea and cholera saw increased incidences following the storm's impact. Within a month of the cyclone's landfall, the Odisha state government reported 22,296 cases of diarrheal disorders.

Cyclone Phailin, which hit Odisha in October 2013, killed 21 people dead.

Last October, Odisha had to evacuate some 300,000 people when its coastal districts were battered by cyclone Titli, with winds up to 150 kms (95 miles) per hour and heavy rains.

At least two people were killed in the cyclone.

Storms regularly hit eastern and southeastern India between April and December. In 2017, Cyclone Ockhi left nearly 250 people dead in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states.