Cyclone Fani intensifies over Bay of Bengal: Follow these tips to stay safe

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that cyclone Fani is very likely to reach near the coasts of north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh by the evening of April 30. The weather deteriorated on Saturday when a deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal developed into cyclonic storm 'Fani', and IMD warned that it will further intensify into a "severe cyclonic storm".

IMD has said that sea along the coasts of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh is likely to be "very rough" and advised fishermen along the coasts of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry not to venture into the seas.

Cyclone Fani currently lays over east Equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) also confirmed the developments regarding cyclone Fani through it's Twitter handle and urged citizens to stay safe.

The deep depression over East Equatorial Indian Ocean & adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into Cyclonic Storm 'FANI' over southeast Bay of Bengal & adjoining East Equatorial Indian Ocean & lay centred at 880 km east-southeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka);(1)

— NDMA India (@ndmaindia) April 27, 2019

1250 km southeast of Chennai (#TamilNadu) and 1460 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam (#Andhra Pradesh). It is very likely to intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm during next 24 hours.(2) #CycloneFani

— NDMA India (@ndmaindia) April 27, 2019

NDMA also issued some safety tips that you should follow to protect yourself, your family and valuables.

#CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/RPDcc2KcUf

— NDMA India (@ndmaindia) April 26, 2019

#CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/e4pQmHiyUj

— NDMA India (@ndmaindia) April 26, 2019

Here are some more precautions recommended by the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP):

• Check the house; secure loose tiles and carry out repairs of doors and windows
• Remove dead branches or dying trees close to the house; anchor removable objects such as lumber piles, loose tin sheets, loose bricks, garbage cans, sign-boards etc. which can fly in strong winds
• Keep some wooden boards ready so that glass windows can be boarded if needed
• Keep a hurricane lantern filled with kerosene, battery operated torches and enough dry cells
• Demolish condemned buildings
• Keep some extra batteries for transistors
• Keep some dry non-perishable food always ready for use in emergency