Rahul Gandhi tell people to be alert about Cyclone Fani

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday urged party workers in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to warn people in their neighbourhood about Cyclone Fani and help those in need. "As #CycloneFani approaches, I urge Congress workers in Odisha, Andhra & West Bengal to warn people in their surrounding areas of the approaching danger and to help those in need," Gandhi tweeted.

"Stay safe. This danger will soon pass. You are in my thoughts and prayers tonight," he said. The extremely severe cyclonic storm moved menacingly close to the Odisha coast this evening and will make the landfall 9.30am Friday, much before the earlier forecast of 3 pm.

With a few hours left for cyclone Fani to hit the coast, a massive exodus got under way in coastal Odisha as hundreds of thousands of people left their home, on foot and by vehicles, in probably the largest evacuation ahead of a natural disaster in the country. Over 11 lakh people in 10,000 odd villages and 52 urban local bodies were shifted to cyclone shelters and other safe houses, officials said.

The West Bengal government has sounded alert in coastal areas and the state capital Kolkata. It has urged people to move to safer places. In Andhra Pradesh too, a red alert has been issued for Srikakulam and Vizianagarm districts.