India evacuates 800,000 as cyclone nears east coast

India will use boats, buses and trains to evacuate 800,000 people along its east coast on Thursday ahead of an approaching cyclone that is forecast to make landfall within 24 hours, officials said. Report informs citing the Times of India that severe Cyclonic Storm Fani was centered in the west of the Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Office said. The south coast of Odisha state was also expected to get heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday, it said in a bulletin.

The state-run weather office also forecast wind speeds gusting up to 200 kph by Friday. Cyclone tracker Tropical Storm Risk rated Fani a mid-range category 3 storm.