Cyclone Fani: Odisha closes schools, colleges

Bhubaneswar, May 1 (IANS) The Odisha government on Wednesday ordered closure of all educational institutions in the state from May 2 in view of the cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is likely to hit the coast on May 3 afternoon. "All educational establishments should declare holidays from May 2 till further orders. All the examinations should be rescheduled," said the office of Special Relief Commissioner (SRC). The SRC also advised tourists to leave Puri by May 2 evening and cancel non-essential travel to the districts likely to be affected on May 3-4. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' was likely to cross between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri, while 11 districts of Odisha were to be affected. Bhubaneswar Met Centre Director H.R. Biswas said that the storm was very likely to cross Odisha coast in Puri on May 3 afternoon and the wind speed was likely to be 175-185kmph gusting up to 205kmph. The major threat of the cyclone was heavy rain, flooding, damaging wind gusts and storm surge, he added.
--IANS cd/rtp