India: Death toll from Cyclone Fani hits 34

CHANDIGARH, India

The death toll from cyclone Fani on Sunday reached 34 in the Indian state of Odisha, two days after the storm wreaked massive destruction in eastern India.

State emergency officials in Odisha’s capital on Sunday said of the 34 deaths reported, most were seen in the temple town of Puri (21).

Bishnupada Sethi, Odisha special relief commissioner, told Anadolu Agency the death toll is “subject to confirmation through police and postmortem reports that death occurred due to the cyclone.”

About the impact and damage from the cyclone, emergency officials said that 11 districts and 14,835 villages were affected.

They said over 1,000 health facilities and nearly 5,800 schools suffered damage due to the cyclone, and Puri saw extensive damage.

Fani made landfall impact on Friday morning, leaving behind a trail of destruction and devastation.

Naveen Patnaik, Odisha’s chief minister, said Fani is one of the rarest summer cyclones to hit Odisha in 43 years.

“It is also one of three to hit in the last 150 years. Odisha undertook the challenge to lead one of the biggest human evacuations in history, shifting 1.2 million people to safety in 24 hours. Odisha has been devastated by Cyclone Fani. Please help rebuild precious lives,” he said.

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