Kolkata, May 2: With the Cyclone Fani intensifying towards the north-east coastal area of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the Indian Railways have cancelled 103 train in the southern area, while all the trains plying between Howrah and Puri have been cancelled too. Though special trains were announced by the regional Railway decision, there are no reports whether they would ply or not.

Earlier on Thursday morning, the Indian Navy, NDRF, SDRF and Coast Guard have mentioned that they have kept their personnel and relief measures ready to help rescue as many people as they can. In the meantime, all the tourists in Puri and nearby have been advised to vacate the city immediately, as the Cyclone Fani is expected to strike at a speed of 170-180 kmph on Friday. Cyclone Fani Update: Indian Railways Announces Special Trains to Evacuate People From Affected Areas in Odisha And AP, Asks Tourists to Leave Puri Immediately. 

Informing more, IMD had made speculations that Cyclone Fani (pronounced as Foni) would hit Gopalpur and Chandbali in Odisha at a speed of 170-180 kmph. To help the people rescue from Odisha, Indian Railways had announced two more special trains will start from Puri at 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday for Howrah, with stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kendujhar road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur respectively.

Coast Guard (East) IG Paramesh said, "We have positioned 8 rescue teams, 4 each at Visakhapatnam & Chennai. We have also kept 2 ships each at Visakhapatnam and Chennai for immediate mobilisation post-cyclone. One Chetak helicopter, each at Chennai and Visakhapatnam is kept ready to provide relief."

Adding more the rescue preparation, Paramesh said, "Coast guard has tied up with NDRF and state administration to provide immediate relief in aftermath of cyclone Fani. From April 25 our ships and aircraft are continuously patrolling the areas and we have been sending out weather warnings to the fishermen."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2019 03:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).