The storm is expected to continue north, hitting the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Bhutan, as well as parts of the Indian states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. The Bay of Bengal has experienced many deadly tropical cyclones, the result of warm air and water temperatures producing storms that strike the large populations along the coast. Dozens, rather than thousands, died. While called a cyclone, Fani is no different from hurricanes that strike the coastline of the United States. Rain totals of 8 to 12 inches will fall over a widespread swath that will include Odisha’s capital, Bhubaneswar. Visakhapatnam, India, on Monday. Schools have been closed, and fishermen have been asked to return to shore. “It’s remarkable in terms of its wind speed,” Mr. Herndon said. Tens of thousands of people from the Mahanadi River Delta to Kalibhanja Diha Island live less than 10 feet above sea level. The cyclone in 1999 that killed more than 10,000 people, most of them in Odisha, lingered for more than a day, flooding villages and coastal areas and blowing apart bridges and houses. The World Meteorological Organization said the storm was “one of the most intense” in 20 years in the region. Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Indian state of Odisha since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. “People are reluctant to leave their homes, though, which is problematic,” Mr. Sethi said. “Whether I move my wares back to a safer terrain or let the coconuts lie here, I must lose out to nature,” he said. The second named storm and the first fudge cyclonic storm of the 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Fani originated from a tropical depression that formed west of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean on 26 April. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicts Fani will make landfall Friday afternoon local time with peak winds close to their current intensity — around 115 mph. Note: Times on the map are shown in local time in India. Officials said the storm could be the most powerful to strike India since 1999, when a cyclone killed more than 10,000 people in the same region of eastern India. This will pose major issues for neighborhoods near the beach in Puri, a city of 200,000, where a five-foot storm surge (or rise in water above normally dry land) is also expected. Vertical wind shear at first hindered the storm's development, but conditions became more favorable for Fani on 30 April. But if the eye of the storm tracks just west of Puri, the city could be ground zero for the worst of the wind and surge. Siddheshwar Malik, 36, a beachside coconut seller, noted that the sea had turned a whitish color in recent days and was beginning to grow rough. More than 850 storm shelters have been opened along Odisha’s coast, said Bishnupada Sethi, the state’s special relief commissioner. The India Meteorological Department says Fani has strengthened into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm.”. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Editor and writer covering weather and climate, India Meteorological Department says Fani, forecasts from the India Meteorological Department, the strongest storm in the north Indian Ocean this early in the year. “The sustained winds are really near the top range of the winds we see in this part of the world.”, Tens of millions of people are potentially in the path of what the India Meteorological Department called an “extremely severe cyclonic storm.”. The bulk of Puri is high enough above sea level that those more than a few hundred yards inland will be immune to the ferocious waves. Fani is crawling just east of due north at 7 mph, continuing to gain strength over the bath-warm seas in the Bay of Bengal. We are fully prepared to tackle the Cyclone Fani.”. A surge close to that high could be disastrous for dozens of impoverished rural communities, inundating homes and businesses. The authorities have been preparing for the storm since Saturday, when forecasts first indicated its strength and possible path, Mr. Sethi said. The state’s disaster relief department has been using television, loudspeakers, radio and text messages to warn residents about the dangers of the storm. Nargis was blamed for more than 100,000 deaths in Myanmar. The storm is expected to hit the heavily populated state of Odisha. Indian officials had done a good job of moving residents away from the coast, he said, noting that it was “very, very vulnerable” to storm surge. “All precautions have been taken to face the cyclone.

Farther north, however, it’s a different story. Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest tropical storms to hit India in two decades, is on a scheduled forecast path toward a direct hit along the coast Friday morning. Airports in its path were closing and hundreds of trains have been canceled.

The meteorological department warned of the “total destruction” of thatched huts in some districts, major damage to roads, the uprooting of power poles and the potential danger from flying objects.

But the authorities in the region have significantly improved disaster preparation and response capabilities in the years since, and subsequent major storms have resulted in far fewer deaths. A satellite image of Cyclone Fani in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. BHUBANESWAR, India — Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated parts of India’s eastern coast on Thursday as an “extremely severe” cyclone moved north through the Bay of Bengal, bringing fears of widespread destruction from heavy rain, powerful winds and storm surges in low-lying areas. However, when Cyclone Phailin slammed Odisha in October 2013, the toll was not nearly as severe, thanks to improved forecasting and evacuation efforts; 1.2 million people were evacuated ahead of that storm. “Widespread damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards,” per forecasts from the India Meteorological Department, could grind local commerce to a halt. It’s not just homes that will suffer — the local economy also could be severely affected. “I appeal to everyone that the children, women, old and disabled be evacuated first,” Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha, said on Wednesday, Indian news media reported.

Water temperatures there range from the mid- to upper 80s, a few degrees above normal, which supports further intensification during the next day or so. The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Just east of Puri, several veterinarians were on standby to treat injured animals from the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary. If, as expected, the sanctuary takes a direct hit from the storm, officials could have to open the sanctuary’s gates, “so that animals should have the freedom to save their lives,” he said. Cyclone Fani is 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. much better prepared for Cyclone Phailin in 2013. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A Category 5-equivalent cyclone devastated Odisha in 1999, unleashing a 20-foot-plus storm surge and 160 mph winds. As Fani approaches the coast, it is forecast to weaken slightly. He said the storm was likely to harm his business. Indians at a shelter in the Puri District on the eve of Cyclone Fani’s landfall on the coast of Odisha, India. The powerful storm made landfall in India on Friday morning. Forecast as of May 2. Each can hold about 1,000 people, along with livestock. An official said about 800,000 people were expected to be moved to safer places by Thursday evening. (This report, first published on Tuesday, was updated Wednesday.).