As the eye inches forward, the very calmness brings further destruction as the second arm of the cyclone is equally violent. An eye is the centre of a cyclone, which is calm, while the strong winds that circle it are known as the arms of the storm.
"There is a tendency to be complacent after the first arm of the cyclone moves ahead. The first arm brings destruction. The eye, which covers an area of 30-40 kilometres, is usually calm. But as the eye moves forward it is replaced by the second arm of the cyclone which is equally destructive," said Mritunjay Mohapatra, head of the cyclone warning division and additional director general of the India Meteorological Department.
Cyclone Fani, which has intensified into an extremely severe cyclone is expected to hit the Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali in the forenoon of Friday.
The wind speed is expected to be 170-180 kmph that could reach up to 200 kmph when it makes the landfall.
The IMD has started issuing hourly bulletins on Cyclone Fani since Thursday.
Alert sounded in WB coastal districts, tourists asked to leave
As Cyclone Fani moved closer, the West Bengal government sounded an alert in coastal East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas districts, asking tourists to leave seaside destinations and directing fishermen not to venture into the sea.
Schools have been asked to stay closed and locals to move to safer places as the state braces for the extremely severe cyclonic storm which is expected to make its landfall in neighbouring Odisha Friday.
A senior official said alert was also sounded in neighbouring West Midnapore, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hoogly districts, in Jhargram and the Sundarbans, besides Kolkata.
The government has started making announcements in seaside destinations of Digha, Shankarpur, Tajpur and Mandarmani in East Midnapore and Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas, asking tourists to leave immediately and locals to take shelter in secure areas, he said.
"Each and every district has been alerted to keep a close watch on the situation. A control room has been opened 24X7 in this connection," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Banerjee said she will be staying at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district for the next two days to supervise the situation.