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Cyclone Fani is forecast to strengthen as it nears India and is expected to make landfall within the next 12 hours with extremely powerful winds, equivalent to that of a category 3

hurricane. The devastating storm system is expecting to bring torrential rain, coastal storm surge, and mudslides as it moves inland, with wind speeds of up to 127 mph (200kmph). Millions of

Indians are in the firing line of the storm, with those living over the country’s eastern coastline at biggest risk. Channel 4 News meteorologist Liam Dutton warned of flooding and damaging

winds as the system hits India. He wrote on Twitter: “Tropical Cyclone Fani is just 12-15 hours from making landfall in Odisha, NE India. “When it makes landfall, it'll have damaging

winds equivalent to a category 3 hurricane. “Torrential rain, coastal storm surge, flooding and mudslides expected as it moves inland.” CYCLONE FANI UPDATE: TRAINS CANCELLED, 800,000

EVACUATED AS WINDS HIT 127MPH The cyclone is predicted to hit the Odisha coast between Puri and Kendrapara by Friday. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, said: “We are beginning to see the eye on

the very last images here. “195kmph around that eye right now, and it will get slightly stronger before it makes landfall. “After that, it picks up a lot of forward speed and then it will

spread the rain around rather than a storm that stalls and you just get rain after rain after rain. “Finally by the time it gets to Kolkata and Bangladesh, it is moving rather quickly.

“There still will be wind damage, there still will be a surge and there still will be flooding, at least for the north, now that will be limited by the speed of the forward motion of the

storm.” About 900 cyclone shelters have been prepared to house evacuees, and troops of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and 78 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have

been requisitioned for deployment. On its hurricane Facebook page, NASA wrote: “Fani did have strong thunderstorms in the centre with cloud tops near minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. “Storms

with cloud tops that cold and high into the troposphere have the potential to generate heavy rainfall. “Fani will move north-northwest across the Bay of Bengal and is forecast to intensify

into hurricane force.” According to Indian national news website NDTV, railways have cancelled at least 103 trains ahead of Cyclone Fani hitting. Weather.com claimed the flood risk is

highest in Srikakulam (AP) and Brahmapur (Odisha) and is also relatively high in Visakhapatnam (AP), Rayagada, Bhanjanagar, Phulabani, Angul, Bhuban, Bhubaneshwar, and Paradwip (Odisha).

Evacuations have begun in the coastal districts of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati, Ganjam, Khordha, Cuttack and Jajpur. In 2017, Cyclone Ockhi left

close to 250 people dead in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states.