Cyclone Fani Update: Death toll mounts to 16

Odisha, May 5, 2019:

The death toll rose to 16 in Odisha yesterday in the aftermath of the cyclone 'Fani' wreckage as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The Naveen Patnaik-headed Odisha administration evacuated nearly 12 lakh people. The preparedness of the Government in dealing with the "extremely severe" cyclone has been lauded by even the United Nations.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 yesterday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar, and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh, and Kendrapara, officials said.

It may be mentioned that the cyclone did not cause much damage in West Bengal and headed towards neighboring country Bangladesh on May 4.

It may be mentioned that the cyclone battered the coasts as speeds of 155 mph on May 3.

Meanwhile, The Railways will resume all train services from Bhubaneshwar on May 5, except two, and it has already cleared the Howrah-Chennai mainline, barely 24 hours after the cyclone hit Odisha, officials said.