BHUBANESHWAR/NEW DELHI, India: 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.
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 (125 mph) by Friday. Cyclone tracker Tropical Storm Risk rated Fani a mid-range category 3 storm.
About 800,000 people were expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 14 districts in Odisha to cyclone shelters, safer schools and college buildings, a government statement said.
“We are maximizing efforts at all levels for evacuation for the time being,” Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters.
Tourists have also been advised to leave coastal towns in West Bengal and Odisha, state government officials said.
Sea conditions were also likely to be very rough off the coast of the southeastern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and federally administered Puducherry, the weather office said.
India’s cyclone season generally lasts from April to December, with severe storms often leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, widespread deaths and damage to crops and property in both India and Bangladesh.
A super-cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours, killing 10,000 people, two decades ago. A mass evacuation of nearly a million people in 2013 likely saved thousands of lives.
India plans to evacuate 800,000 as cyclone nears east coast
India plans to evacuate 800,000 as cyclone nears east coast
- Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani was centered in the west of the Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Office said
- About 800,000 people were expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 14 districts in Odisha to cyclone shelters, safer schools and college buildings
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
