Cyclone Titli has made landfall near Gopalpur in Odisha state of India at early hours of Thursday (Oct 11) morning, with surface wind speeds of 126 kmph, reported news agency PTI. 

People in coastal areas of Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh are preparing to face the full onslaught of Cyclone Titli.

'Titli', which means butterfly in Hindi, has been categorised as a "very severe cyclonic storm".

As the landfall process started, at least five Indian districts like Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Khurda and Jagatsinghpur received good amount of rainfall coupled with high-speed winds. As many as 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed along with the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) at several places across the state.

The state government on Wednesday evacuated over three lakh people living in low-lying areas and kuchha houses in five coastal districts. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik set a mission “zero casualty” for the state.

Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi announced that all schools, colleges and child care centers would remain closed on Thursday and Friday.

Inputs from NDTV, The Indian Express

BDST: 0958 HRS, OCT 11, 2018
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