In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates

around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure.[1][2] Cyclones

are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a
zone of low pressure.[3][4] The largest low-pressure systems are
polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale (the
synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and
subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale.[5]
Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within smaller
mesoscale.[6] Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence
of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical
upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the
Northern Hemisphere.

Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and

tropical phases. Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over
land, and can lead to tornado formation.[11] Waterspouts can also
form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from
environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.[12] In
the Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific oceans, a tropical cyclone
is generally referred to as a hurricane (from the name of the
ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan), in the Indian
and south Pacific oceans it is called a cyclone, and in the
northwestern Pacific it is called a typhoon.[13] The growth of
instability in the vortices is not universal. For example, the size,
intensity, moist-convection, surface evaporation, the value of
potential temperature at each potential height can affect the
nonlinear evolution of a vortex.

high intensity tropical storms have been tied to the very warm
sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Temperatures of
30°C are occurring more often and over longer periods of time.
This is a result of gradual warming on a global scale, which has
resulted in a net increase in ocean temperatures.
Warmer ocean temperatures allow stronger storms to form.
These conditions are exacerbated by global forcing mechanisms
including El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole, which
concentrates warm ocean waters in smaller geographic areas.

Their increased frequency in the Indian Ocean should be raising

alarm bells
Fani, which started out in the Bay of Bengal in the last
week of April, was quite unlike the typical storms that
Odisha is accustomed to. From 1965 to 2017, the Bay
of Bengal and the Arabian Sea collectively registered
46 ‘severe cyclonic storms’. More than half of them
occurred between October and December. Seven of
them occurred in May and only two (in 1966 and
1976) were recorded in April, according to data from
the India Meteorological Department’s cyclone
statistics unit. Before Fani, only one of them (in 1966)
had actually made landfall over India.
While modern, meteorological record-keeping dates
furious cyclones in Odisha to as far as back to 1831, to
the average citizen, in contemporary times 1999
marked the turning point for the State. The cyclone
that hit that year was catastrophic: it killed
thousands, obliterated homes, and left a trail of
destruction. The State was cut off from the rest of the
country, and it was weeks before the magnitude of
the tragedy hit home. Since then, Odisha has prepared
itself in various ways to face such cyclones — by
building specially crafted storm shelters and
commissioning electric poles that are designed to
withstand strong gales.
By May 1, the weather department was confident that
Fani would be unforgiving, but not as powerful as
BOB 06 (cyclones then didn’t have names) that had
hit the port town of Paradip in 1999.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm was the strongest tropical

cyclone to strike the Indian state of Odisha since Phailin in 2013.
The second named storm and the first severe cyclonic storm of the
2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Fani originated from a
tropical depression that formed west of Sumatra in the Indian
Ocean on 26 April. Vertical wind shear at first hindered the storm's
development, but conditions became more favorable on 30 April.
Fani rapidly intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm
and reached its peak intensity on 2 May, as a high-end extremely
severe cyclonic storm, and the equivalent of a high-end Category 4
major hurricane. Fani weakened before making landfall, and its
convective structure rapidly degraded thereafter, degenerating into
a remnant low on 4 May, and dissipating on the next day.
Prior to Fani's landfall, authorities in India and Bangladesh moved
at least a million people each from Fani's projected path onto
higher ground and into cyclone shelters, which is thought to have
reduced the resultant death toll.[4] As of 12 May 2019, 89 people
are known to have been killed by Fani in eastern India and
Bangladesh. Fani caused almost US$100 million in damages in
both India and Bangladesh
The IMD began tracking a depression located west of Sumatra on
26 April, classifying it as BOB 02. Later that day, the Joint Typhoon
Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
on the system.[7] Afterward, the storm slowly coalesced while
moving northward and was upgraded to a deep depression at
00:00 UTC on 27 April.[8] At the same time, the JTWC began
warning on the system, designating it 01B.[9] Six hours later, the
IMD upgraded the system to a cyclonic storm and gave it the name
Fani.
 Fani started strengthening around 12:00 UTC, with the IMD
upgrading it to a severe cyclonic storm.[12] At that time, Fani began
a period of rapid intensification as it was located within a very
favorable environment with sea surface temperatures of 30–31 °C
(86–88 °F) and low vertical wind shear. As a result, the JTWC
upgraded Fani to a Category 1-equivalent cyclone late on 29
April.[13] Around 00:00 UTC on 30 April, Fani was upgraded to a
very severe cyclonic storm by the IMD.
Development proceeded more slowly over the following days, with
little improvement evident in the system's satellite presentation. On
2 May, however, the central dense overcast became more
symmetrical and the eye more distinct, and Fani was upgraded to
a Category 4-equivalent cyclone by the JTWC at 06:00 UTC.
Shortly after, Fani started another period of rapid intensification,
attaining 1-minute sustained winds of 250 km/h (155 mph) just
below Category 5-equivalent tropical cyclone intensity, according
to the JTWC.[19] At 8:00 a.m. IST (02:30 UTC) 3 May, Fani made
landfall near Puri, Odisha with 3-minute sustained winds of
185 km/h (115 mph).[20] Land interaction quickly degraded Fani's
convective structure; and it weakened to a Category 1-equivalent
tropical cyclone soon after landfall.[21] Fani continued to weaken
after landfall, weakening to a cyclonic storm later that day,[22] before
passing just north of Kolkata. On 4 May, Fani weakened to a deep
depression and moved into Bangladesh,[23] before degenerating
into a well-marked low later on the same day.[24] On 5 May, Fani's
remnant low dissipated over Bhutan.[

reparations
The India Meteorological Department tracked the storm and issued
numerous yellow warnings for much of the south-eastern portion of
India when the cyclone started to intensify.[25][26] In preparation for
the storm's impact, the state government of Odisha evacuated
over 1.2 million residents from vulnerable coastal areas and
moved them to higher ground and into cyclone shelters built a few
miles inland. The authorities deployed around a thousand
emergency workers and 43,000 volunteers in these effort. It sent
out 2.6 million text messages to warn of the storm in addition to
using television, sirens and public-address systems to
communicate the message. About 7,000 kitchens were operated to
feed evacuees in 9,000 storm shelters.[27][28]
The Indian Navy readied naval ships and aircraft at Arakkonam
and Visakhapatnam air-bases to prepare for the storm's aftermath
and aid in reconnaissance, rescue and relief operations.[29] The
Odisha government staged "300 power boats, two helicopters and
many chain saws, to cut downed trees" for the purpose.[28]
Authorities in Bangladesh were ordered to open shelter areas as
well in 19 coastal districts.[30] Bangladesh Navy deployed 32 naval
ships to provide emergency relief and medical assistance to the
coastal areas in case of any emergencies.[31] More than 1.2 million
people were evacuated in Bangladesh and moved to the cyclone
shelters in coastal areas.[32]

Impact and aftermath

At least 72 people have been killed by Fani in India; 64 in
Odisha,[33] and 8 in two districts of Uttar Pradesh. The cyclone
adversely affected electricity supply and telecommunication in
several coastal areas of Odisha, and to a lesser extent, of West
Bengal. Puri and Khordha district in Odisha were the worst hit.[27]
The Jagannath Temple in Puri suffered minor damage, the
repairing cost were estimated to be ₹5.1 crore.[37] Initial agricultural
damage were estomated to be ₹150 crore .[38]
The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh reported no loss of life or
injury, but estimated an economic damage of ₹58.62 crore
.[5] The South Central Railway also suffered a damage of about
₹2.98 crore
Fani killed 17 people in ten districts of Bangladesh.The cyclone
also destroyed about (160,000 acres) of farmland in 35 districts of
the country, the agricultural loss were at tk38.5 crore (US$4.6
million).[44] Total damage in Bangladesh were up to Tk536.61 crore
After the cyclone, Odisha required ₹17,000 crore for rebuilding the
infrastructure.[45] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced
that the government had released over ₹1000 crore for the states
affected by Fani.[46] The Bangladeshi government distributed rice,
dried food, and Tk1.97 crore ) to those affected by the cyclone.

Relief and help

low-pressure area was formed over east equatorial Indian Ocean
(EIO) and adjoining southeast of Bay of Bengal (BoB) on 25.04.2019
intensifying into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over southeast & adjoining
southwest BoB. It further intensified into Extremely Severe Cyclonic
Storm ‘FANI’ over west central & adjoining southwest of Bay of
Bengal on 01.05.2019 hitting one of the poorest coastal states of India
- Odisha. The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘FANI’ made landfall
on the Odisha Coast south of Puri on 3 May, 2019 and the eye of the
system was completely moved into land by 1000 hrs at the wind
speed of 175-185, gusting up to 205 kmph.

The state and district administration along with local civil society and
panchayatiraj institutions have been able to get some 1.1 million
people evacuated soon after the warning was made by the Indian
Meteorological Department (IMD) and prior to the land fall of
Cyclone FANI. The massive evacuation was possible due to the
improved community awareness created over the years of effort by
the government and non government humanitarian agencies backed
by robust systems and processes put in place to evacuate and
providing temporary shelters in some 850 Multi Purpose Cyclone
Shelters ( MPCS) built during last twenty years with investments
coming from the state as well as the civil society. However, the strong
wind of more than 200 km /hr has caused extensive damage to the
infrastructure and people’s assets, such as water supply, electricity
and the weak houses of the poor rural and urban communities. The
lifeline of the state including the state capital is still under darkness
with electricity, Internet and communication line cut off completely.
The government response:
Free kitchen extended for another 15 days, most kitchens
running the MPCSs.
The State Government announced the rehabilitation
package for the cyclone victims.
The beneficiaries will get INR
95,100 for fully damaged houses under rural housing schemes.
Similarly the families having partially damaged houses will get
INR 5,200 and INR 3,200 for nominal repair
The affected families in Puri and Khurda districts will get
50 Kg rice, INR 2000/- and a polythene each
Additional one-month pension to the beneficiaries in the
affected areas under Social Security Scheme

As Odisha stares at the devastation caused by

Cyclone Fani, comparisons are being drawn with
the tragedy the state suffered 20 years ago at the
hands of one of the most powerful cyclones of the
20th century. The 1999 super cyclone had claimed
almost 10,000 lives ), damaged nearly 20 lakh
houses, killed about two lakh livestock, and affected
about 2.5 to 3 million people, leaving large tracts of
agricultural land unfit for cultivation for a long time
due to salinity.
India has come a long way since then, as is evident
from the much lesser number of deaths caused by
Fani
The super cyclone that had hit the Odisha coast,
near Paradip, on October 29 remains the most
powerful ever recorded in India, and one of the
strongest anywhere in the world in the 20th century.
One good measure of the strength of a cyclone is
the ‘pressure drop’ that creates and sustains it. The
average atmospheric pressure at mean sea-level is
1013 milibar. When the super cyclone was at its
strongest, a few hours before it made landfall, the
air pressure at its centre was 912 milibar.
“A pressure drop of 100 milibars is very big, and
provides tremendous strength to the cyclone. The
bigger the pressure drop, the stronger the cyclone,
and greater the wind speed associated with it,” says
U C Mohanty of IIT Bhubaneswar. The super
cyclone was accompanied with winds of speeds
250-260 km per hour or more. In comparison,
Cyclone Fani had a pressure drop of 63 milibars
(atmospheric pressure of 950 at its strongest) and
wind speeds of about 210-215 km per hour.

To put it in context, the super cyclone carried

energy equivalent to 1,600 atomic bombs, similar to
the ones dropped over Hiroshima. Almost the entire
coastline of Odisha was affected, with the districts
of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur worst off. Entire
villages were washed off. One former official
involved in rescue and relief claims that waves as
high as 40 feet were witnessed, and villages as far
away as 40 km from the coast submerged. Most
documented accounts talk of waves 25 to 30 feet
high.
What added to the destructive capability of the
super cyclone was that it stayed on for unusually
long even after making landfall. Usually, cyclones
dissipate in strength very fast after making contact
with land. This is mainly because of the lack of
moisture that feeds it over the ocean, and the
friction provided by land and other structures on it.
The super cyclone, however, continued to retain the
strength of a cyclonic storm even 36 hours after
landfall. Heavy rain continued for two days along
the coastline.
What also made the 1999 super cyclone such a
huge tragedy was India’s ill-preparedness. The
India Meteorological Department (IMD) had put up
its first cyclone detection, tracking and warning
system in the 1970s, thanks mainly to its then
director general P Koteswaram, who got 10 cyclone
detection radars installed along the coastline. But
even in 1999, the IMD’s ability to forecast cyclones
was pretty rudimentary. The computing resources
were severely limited, the models were crude and
weak, Internet access was just beginning so
communication with other global agencies took
time, and the sort of international collaborations that
we have now were sorely missing. And of course,
the state did not have the infrastructure or the
resources to evacuate people, the most crucial
difference between then and now.
However, even as human deaths have been
averted to a very large extent, there is no running
away from the destruction caused by a cyclone.
Almost a week later, many areas in Odisha,
including Bhubaneswar and other cities, are without
power, there is a drinking water crisis, livelihoods
and assets lost forever, possible outbreak of
diseases and post-traumatic stress, and major
reconstruction works ahead.

Shattered windowpanes, sturdy trees lying flat on the

roads, and downed power lines are the prominent
markers of Cyclone Fani, which pounded Puri and
Bhubaneswar in Odisha on May 3. Three days after
Fani, categorised as an ‘extremely severe cyclonic
storm’, ploughed through the State killing at least 40
people and injuring 160, the streets of Bhubaneswar
are filled with workers of the National Disaster
Response Force, dressed in bright orange.

Fani, which started out in the Bay of Bengal in the last

week of April, was quite unlike the typical storms that
Odisha is accustomed to. From 1965 to 2017, the Bay
of Bengal and the Arabian Sea collectively registered
46 ‘severe cyclonic storms’. More than half of them
occurred between October and December. Seven of
them occurred in May and only two (in 1966 and
1976) were recorded in April, according to data from
the India Meteorological Department’s cyclone
statistics unit. Before Fani, only one of them (in 1966)
had actually made landfall over India.
While modern, meteorological record-keeping dates
furious cyclones in Odisha to as far as back to 1831, to
the average citizen, in contemporary times 1999
marked the turning point for the State. The cyclone
that hit that year was catastrophic: it killed
thousands, obliterated homes, and left a trail of
destruction. The State was cut off from the rest of the
country, and it was weeks before the magnitude of
the tragedy hit home. Since then, Odisha has prepared
itself in various ways to face such cyclones — by
building specially crafted storm shelters and
commissioning electric poles that are designed to
withstand strong gales.
By May 1, the weather department was confident that
Fani would be unforgiving, but not as powerful as
BOB 06 (cyclones then didn’t have names) that had
hit the port town of Paradip in 1999.