© HO/AFP/Getty ImagesTropical Cyclone Fani gathers force in the Bay of Bengal. It is set to hit the east coast of India on Friday.
Emergency crews deployed to Odisha state as storm packing 205km/h winds bears down on the east coast
India has begun the evacuation of 800,000 people and deployed emergency personnel as the country's east coast braces for a severe cyclonic storm.
Tropical Cyclone Fani, located in the Bay of Bengal and packing wind speeds up to 205 km (127 miles) per hour, is expected to make landfall on the coast of Odisha state on Friday.
The state's authorities said they hoped to have evacuated 800,000 people from the state's coastal districts by Thursday morning.
Odisha has also moved in thousands of disaster management personnel to help those living in mud-and-thatch homes in low-lying areas take shelter from Fani.
"We are making best efforts to inform them about the cyclone and move these vulnerable people to cyclone shelters," Bishnupada Sethi, the state's special relief commissioner, said.
The neighbouring coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have also been put on high alert.
India's national disaster management authority (NDMA) said sea conditions were "phenomenal" over the west-central Bay of Bengal area.
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