File:Tropical Cyclone Fani (MODIS 2019-05-04).jpg

English: Tropical Cyclone Fani made landfall on the morning of May 3, 2019, striking between the city of Puri and the village of Brahmagiri in Odisha state, India. At landfall, Fani carried maximum sustained winds of up to 240 km/h (149 mph), according to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid report, which was posted on ReliefWeb. These wind speeds place it in Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with expected consequences rated as “catastrophic”. Shortly after landfall, other sources reported maximum sustained winds at Category 3 strength. It is not uncommon to have conflicting reports in the hours immediately after a severe storm makes landfall. All sources agree that Fani is the strongest storm to strike India in the last 20 years.

The storm weakened rapidly after landfall, with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issuing its last advisory on the Fani at 1500 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) on May 3 as the storm moved inland and was dissipating.

More than one million people have been evacuated in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, India, with 4,852 shelters set up to house evacuees and storm victims. In Bangladesh, 19 coastal districts have been evacuated, with 3,868 shelters opened. First assessment reports from India note “extensive damage” to houses, old buildings, and downed trees and powerlines in areas near landfall. At least 7 people are reported killed by the storm as of the evening of May 3. Additional information will be available as more extensive assessments begin on May 4.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Fani shortly after landfall on May 3. The storm had already lost the tight apostrophe-shape of a severe storm at the time the image was acquired, as well as the clear eye which was visible shortly before landfall. Strong storm bands were most extensive in the northeast quadrant and stretched over parts of Bangladesh.

A stunning view of the storm at near-peak strength was published on May 2 by NASA’s Earth Observatory. That image can be viewed here