The cyclone could be one of the strongest storms to hit the Indian subcontinent in decades.
Cyclone Fani made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning and was over coastal Odisha within hours.
The classification of storm severity is determined by the India Meteorological Department based on the generated maximum sustained wind speed, according to India Today, and was downgraded from an „extremely severe“ storm to a „very severe“ storm on Friday, CNN reports, weakening as it has traveled. Still, the cyclone has ushered in wind gusts exceeding 120 miles per hour.
Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclones path, according to the New York Times. Relief efforts began on Friday, but delivery was impeded by damage from the storm, which included roadways obstructed by fallen trees.
