Disaster relief plans have been made for Rohingya refugee camps along the Bangladeshi border with Myanmar in case Tropical Cyclone Fani hits the vulnerable, low-lying areas, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
In a tweet, the UNHCR said it had almost 150 emergency response containers at refugee camps in the east of the country: "They hold family tents, sleeping mats, blankets, buckets, aqua tabs, plastic sheets, rope, and will ensure quicker response to save lives, if needed."
Key among the items are the emergency tents which can be "rapidly deployed" should families' makeshift shelters collapse in the strong winds.
Disaster relief plans have been made for Rohingya refugee camps along the Bangladeshi border with Myanmar in case Tropical Cyclone Fani hits the vulnerable, low-lying areas, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
In a tweet, the UNHCR said it had almost 150 emergency response containers at refugee camps in the east of the country: "They hold family tents, sleeping mats, blankets, buckets, aqua tabs, plastic sheets, rope, and will ensure quicker response to save lives, if needed."
Key among the items are the emergency tents which can be "rapidly deployed" should families' makeshift shelters collapse in the strong winds.
Disaster relief plans have been made for Rohingya refugee camps along the Bangladeshi border with Myanmar in case Tropical Cyclone Fani hits the vulnerable, low-lying areas, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
In a tweet, the UNHCR said it had almost 150 emergency response containers at refugee camps in the east of the country: "They hold family tents, sleeping mats, blankets, buckets, aqua tabs, plastic sheets, rope, and will ensure quicker response to save lives, if needed."
Key among the items are the emergency tents which can be "rapidly deployed" should families' makeshift shelters collapse in the strong winds.
• Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, around 8 a.m. on Friday, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 120 miles per hour.
• Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclone’s path, and more than a million were evacuated this week from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.
• The fast-moving storm struck the coast as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Soon after it made landfall, meteorologists predicted it would be downgraded within hours to a “very severe” storm from an “extremely severe” storm.
Streets along India’s coast were largely empty as residents heeded warnings from the India Meteorological Department to stay indoors.
“In Bhubaneswar, we are all indoors,” said Jagdish Chandra Rout, head of communications for Gopalpur Port Limited. “Nobody is visible on the road, nothing is moving on the road.”
Mr. Rout said he felt the area was much better prepared for the storm than in 1999, when more than 10,000 people died in a cyclone.
“We feel that yes, we may have some difficult days ahead, but no panic,” he said. “We are prepared, we know what is coming when and where.”
In Puri, winds and rainfall were increasing, said Bishwajit Panda, a 19-year-old college student.
“We fear that our house should not be damaged, our shop should not be damaged, some tree should not fall on house, electric pole should not fall on shop,” he said. “We live in fear. During the days of cyclone it is the life of fear we live.”
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A cyclone relief shelter in Puri on Friday.CreditDibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Mass evacuations in India and Bangladesh
The Indian authorities evacuated more than a million people from parts of the nation’s eastern coast this week.
Using television, loudspeakers, radio and text messages to warn residents about the dangers of the storm, India’s disaster relief agency and meteorological department warned of the “total destruction” to thatched huts in some districts, major damage to roads, the uprooting of power poles and the potential danger from flying objects.
Cyclone Fani is forecast to drop as much as eight inches of rain on northern parts of the state of Andhra Pradesh and on the state of Odisha.
Schools have been closed, fisherman asked to keep off the water and tourists urged to leave the city of Puri, a Hindu pilgrimage site where an elaborate, centuries-old temple could be at risk of severe damage. Airports in the cyclone’s path were closing and hundreds of trains have been canceled.
Along Odisha’s coast, more than 850 storm shelters have been opened, said Bishnupada Sethi, the state’s special relief commissioner. Each can hold about 1,000 people, along with livestock.
“People are reluctant to leave their homes, though, which is problematic,” Mr. Sethi said on Thursday.
In Bangladesh, as the storm approached on Friday the government said it had evacuated half a million coastal residents to shelters by 11 a.m.
The government there, similarly, suspended fishing operations, closed ports and ordered an early harvest of rice crops.
Cyclone’s effects felt on Mount Everest
The cyclone was affecting the weather as far away as Mount Everest, where climbers on their way to the summit turned around after conditions worsened.
At Camp 2, 21,000 feet above sea level, climbers reported an increase in cloud cover and moisture, and high winds tore apart tents. Many climbers from higher up the mountain began making their way down to Base Camp, at 17,600 feet above sea level.
Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs banned helicopters from flying in high mountain areas through the end of the weekend and issued a warning to mountaineers and trekkers on the mountain. More than 1,000 people, including climbers, high-altitude guides, support staff and government officials, have reached Everest Base Camp since the spring climbing season began in March.
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Fishermen pulling a boat to higher ground on a beach in Puri, on Thursday.CreditDibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A history of devastating cyclones
The Bay of Bengal has experienced many deadly tropical cyclones, the result of warm air and water temperatures producing storms that strike the large populations along the coast.
Officials said Cyclone Fani could be the most powerful to strike India since 1999, when a cyclone lingered for more than a day over India’s eastern coast, flooding villages, blowing apart houses and ultimately killing more than 10,000 people.
Since that storm, the authorities in the region have significantly improved disaster preparation and response capabilities, strengthening coastal embankments and preparing evacuation routes, according to a World Bank report. Subsequent major storms have resulted in far fewer deaths.
The state of Odisha was much better prepared for Cyclone Phailin in 2013. About one million people were evacuated, more than twice as many as in 1999, and the storm killed 45 people, the World Bank said.
“All of these efforts bore fruit when Cyclone Phailin made landfall,” the report said.
Cyclone Fani could still bring severe dangers to the region, however, threatening flooding in inland river basins, depending on its path, in the Ganges River delta region, where the Indian city of Kolkata is home to millions.
In 2007, Cyclone Sidr killed at least 3,000 people in nearby Bangladesh, and in 1991, a cyclone killed at least 1,000 there and left millions homeless. In 1970, the so-called Great Bhola Cyclone drove a tidal wave into what was then East Pakistan, in a disaster that killed an estimated 300,000 people, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather & Climate Extremes Archive.
“Unfortunately this region, especially the delta area, has produced the highest death tolls from tropical cyclones on the planet,” said Mr. Herndon, the storm researcher. “Many people live in regions barely above sea level.”
And Cyclone Fani has already proved “one of the most intense in the past 20 years,” according to Clare Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization.
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A road in Puri on Friday.CreditDibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In a show of defiance against his opponents, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro appeared flanked by soldiers at an army base in Caracas on Thursday.
Mr Maduro called on the armed forces to oppose "any coup plotter", as clashes between opposition supporters and pro-government forces continued.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó tried on Wednesday to spark a military defection and force Mr Maduro from office.
Mr Guaidó has urged public employees to strike to undermine the government.
But Mr Maduro praised the army's loyalty on Thursday, calling on the military to unite in a defence of the constitution. "No one dare touch our sacred ground or bring war to Venezuela", he said.
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In January, Mr Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's interim leader and he has the support of more than 50 countries including the US, UK and most Latin America nations.
As the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.
But Mr Maduro - who is backed by Russia, China and the leaders of Venezuela's military - has refused to cede power.
The president dismissed a claim by US defence secretary Mike Pompeo that he had been ready to flee the country, and accused the US of directing an attempted coup.
How did the violence unfold?
On Wednesday, both pro- and anti-government supporters held demonstrations in Caracas that were initially peaceful.
There were reports of gunfire in the city, and a local NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, said Jurubith Rausseo, 27, had been shot dead during a rally in the opposition stronghold of Altamira.
At least 46 people were injured in clashes between opposition supporters and the security forces.
He urged Venezuelans to join them in the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest after being found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014.
Spain's government later said that Mr López and his family had sought safety in their embassy, but said the opposition figure has not claimed political asylum.
Supporters on both sides gathered around the city throughout Tuesday, and there were clashes between Mr Guaidó's supporters and armed military vehicles.
How significant is Guaidó's call for strikes?
In a series of tweets (in Spanish), Mr Guaidó said the final phase of "Operation Liberty" had begun and it was the turn of public workers to join in.
He urged protesters to stay on the streets until Mr Maduro's government would be finally forced to resign.
Mr Guaidó has been courting the public sector for weeks - but winning their support will be difficult, the BBC's Americas editor Candace Piette says.
For years, state employees have been told that if they did not turn up at government rallies, they would lose their jobs.
So if the opposition leader does win them over, it will be a huge victory against President Maduro, our editor says.
What international reaction has there been?
Tensions are rising between the US and Russia over the crisis.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US may take military action to resolve the crisis, and accused Russia and Cuba of destabilising the country through their support for Mr Maduro.
The US also reiterated its support for Mr Guaidó.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Mr Pompeo that America's influence over Venezuela was destructive and a violation of international law.
Governments who still back Mr Maduro - including Bolivia and Cuba - condemned Mr Guaidó's efforts as an attempted coup.
The Mexican government expressed "concern about a possible increase in violence" while Colombian President Ivan Duque urged the Venezuelan military to stand "on the right side of history" against Mr Maduro.
An emergency meeting of the Lima Group of Latin American countries has been scheduled for Friday.
More than 800,000 people have been forced from India's eastern coast on Thursday as an "extremely severe" cyclone moving through the Bay of Bengal is expected to make landfall within 24 hours.
India's Meteorological Department said that Cyclone Fani is a category 3 storm, with sustained winds of 125 mph that is expected to bring "extremely heavy falls" late Thursday over parts of the state of Odisha and its southern neighbor Andhra Pradesh.
The Meteorological Department warned of "total destruction" of thatched-roof huts, flooding of farmland and orchards, and the uprooting of telephone poles due to the approaching storm.
This Wednesday, May 1, 2019 photo provided by NASA shows a satellite view of Cyclone Fani.
(NASA via AP)
The dire forecast spurred the evacuation of around 800,000 people in the storm's path, which is the largest evacuation ahead of a natural disaster in the country's history, according to the Times of India.
"Evacuation is in progress on a war-footing," a senior official told the news outlet. "Around 30 percent of the targeted people have so far been moved to safe places."
In this satellite image acquired from the Indian Metrological Department, shows Cyclone Fani in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
(Indian Metrological Department via AP)
Indian officials put the navy, air force, army and coast guard on high alert, with more than 800 shelters opened and around 100,000 dry food packets ready to be airdropped after the cyclone passes.
"We've been preparing plans for the last few days to ensure that all the people who are vulnerable will be shifted to our cyclone centers," Odisha's special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said.
Tourists have also been urged to leave coastal towns in West Bengal and Odisha, where heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast along the south coast on Thursday, Sky News reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated along India's eastern coast on Thursday as authorities braced for a cyclone moving through the Bay of Bengal that was forecast to bring extremely severe wind and rain.
(AP Photo)
India's National Disaster Management Authority warns that "high to phenomenal" sea conditions are expected for most of the Indian states along the Bay of Bengal, with a 4.9-foot storm surge was expected to inundate low-lying areas.
Officials are concerned that Fani could be the worst storm since 1999 when a cyclone killed around 10,000 people and devastated large parts of Odisha.
In this Wednesday, May 1, 2019 photo, Indian fishermen attempt to bring their boat ashore amid strong winds at Chandrabhaga beach in Puri district of eastern Odisha state, India.
(AP Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Cabinet ministers and weather and disaster-response officials for a briefing on the measures being taken.
After striking India, Fani is also forecast to hit Bangladesh, tracking north through ports including Cox's Bazar, the coastal district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live in refugee camps.
The cyclone season in India typically runs from April to December, with storms often creating massive flooding and widespread deaths in India and Bangladesh, according to Sky News.
It was a crowning achievement for a former flight attendant for Thai Airways.
Three days before his official coronation, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn married Suthida Tidjai — the deputy head of his personal security detail and a former flight attendant — and gave her the title of queen, according to Reuters.
The announcement of the surprise nuptials Wednesday was carried in the Royal Gazette — and the wedding footage was later shown on the nightly Royal News segment aired on all Thai TV channels.
Vajiralongkorn, 66, also known as King Rama X, became constitutional monarch after his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne.
On Saturday, he will be officially crowned in Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies, which are expected to cost upward of $30 million, followed by a procession through Bangkok the following day.
In 2014, he appointed Tidjai as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit and then promoted her to a full general in the Royal Thai Army in December 2016.
Among the dignitaries at the royal wedding were Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of the military junta that has run the country since a 2014 army coup, as well as other royal family members and palace advisers.
The thrice-divorced Vajiralongkorn, who has seven children, had been romantically linked to Tidjai by royal observers and foreign media, but the palace had previously never acknowledged a relationship between the two.
The couple is known to spend most of their time living between Thailand and Germany, where Vajiralongkorn owns a $12 million mansion in Munich, according to the Guardian.
Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 but the royal family still holds immense loyalty, power and wealth.
