Eight dead as Cyclone Fani batters India’s Odisha state

Cyclone Fani left a trail of destruction as it made landfall Friday in India's Odisha state, knocking out power and inundating many areas.

At least eight people were killed, according to officials and local media.

"While three people, including a teenage boy, were reported killed in Puri district, three perished in Bhubaneswar and nearby areas. Flying debris from a concrete structure fatally struck a woman in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of a heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The Indian government's Principal Spokesperson, Sitanshu Kar, said 160 people are reported to be injured.

"As per telephonic information, in Puri, extensive damage to kuchha houses, old buildings and temporary shops…Power and telecom is completely down. NDRF and state forces are clearing roads," he said on Twitter, referring to the National Disaster Response Force.

"Damage is extensive. It is devastation. Buildings, roads are damaged. Electricity and telephones are affected," Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Anadolu Agency by phone, adding a damage assessment is being conducted.

Several videos of the damage caused to buildings and other property mostly in the capital city Bhubaneswar have surfaced on social media.

On Saturday morning, Cyclone Fani-the strongest tropical cyclone to hit India in 20 years -- hit West Bengal state, and meteorologists are saying it will move further towards Bangladesh.

It is very likely to weaken to a cyclonic storm during the next six hours, according to an update released early Saturday by the Meteorological Department.

According to Philip Klotzbach from Colorado State University, Fani is the strongest cyclone this early in the year in the North Indian Ocean since Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Earlier relief officials told Anadolu Agency that more than one million residents had been moved to safer locations in the state.

A statement from India's Civil Aviation Ministry said Bhubaneswar airport has suffered damage.

"Based on the feedback and action taken, it was decided that Bhubaneswar [airport] will resume commercial flight operations with effect from 1300 hours India Standard Time on May 4, 2019," the statement said.