Cyclone Fani: Modi prays for everyone's safety, wellbeing; urges officials to work closely

New Delhi, Apr 28: With Cyclone Fani expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by 1 pm today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday requested to the people to be on their toes and "to take preventive measures" so that the damage could be minimised.

The wind speed may touch as high as 150 km per hour to 175 km per hour in parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh by May 1.

PM Modi took to Twitter and said that he would be praying for 'everyone's safety and wellbeing'.

"Spoke to officials regarding the situation arising due to Cyclone Fani. Asked them to take preventive measures and be prepared to provide all possible assistance. Also urged them to work closely with Governments of the affected states. Praying for everyone's safety and wellbeing," Modi tweeted.

Cyclone Fani, that has been gaining strength in the south-east Bay of Bengal, is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours, the weather department said on Sunday. It is likely to bring light to moderate rain across Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh over the next two days.

Cyclone Warning Division on Sunday afternoon said 'Fani' currently lays over 745 kilometres east-southeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 1,050 kilometres southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and 1,230 kilometres south-southeast of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

Under the category of Very Severe Cyclonic storm, Fani is expected to reach at a speed of 140-150 kmph on Tuesday.