Meet 'Baby Fani' born in Odisha Railway Hospital as cyclone slams coast

As Cyclone Fani raged outside, the doctors maintained their calm and delivered her safely.

By : PTI | Updated at : 03 May 2019 05:06 PM (IST)

Meet 'Baby Fani' born in Odisha railway hospital as cyclone slams coast Meet 'Baby Fani' born in Odisha Railway Hospital as cyclone slams coast

The baby was born at 11.03 am in the railway hospital in Mancheswar, barely five km from the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, officials said./ ANI IMAGE

The extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' or the 'Hood of Snake' made landfall around 8 a.m. in Puri, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

Several districts including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas besides, Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans are likely to be hit by the storm that would then move towards Bangladesh and taper off.

Airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata have been closed.

New Delhi: A baby was born in an Odisha railway hospital as the extremely severe storm wreaked its havoc on Friday and her name came to officials in a flash -- she could only be Lady Fani for them. The baby was born at 11.03 am in the railway hospital in Mancheswar, barely five km from the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, officials said. As Cyclone Fani raged outside, the doctors maintained their calm and delivered her safely, they said.

Bhubaneswar: A 32-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl in Railway Hospital today at 11:03 AM. Baby has been named after the cyclonic storm, Fani. The woman is a railway employee, working as a helper at Coach Repair Workshop, Mancheswar. Both the mother&child are fine. #Odisha pic.twitter.com/xHGTkFPlAe
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

The child, born to a 32-year-old railway employee working as a helper at the Coach Repair Workshop, Mancheswar, and the mother are doing fine, said officials of the Bhubaneswar-headquartered East Coast Railways (ECoR). Packing heavy rain and winds with speeds of up to 175 kmph, Fani slammed into the Odisha coast Friday morning. "Baby made landfall at 11.03. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit. This was the mother's first baby and both of them are doing fine. The hospital suffered some damage," ECoR spokesperson J P Mishra told PTI "She was born as the cyclone wreaked havoc and it was raining heavily. The doctors kept their calm and delivered her," Mishra added. It is not clear if the parents want to name her Fani. The word 'Fani' means a snake's hood and it was suggested by Bangladesh, said Mritunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of the IMD. WATCH: Cyclone Fani: Heavy rain, storm lashes Bhubaneswar

Published at : 03 May 2019 04:40 PM (IST)

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Fani Bhubaneswar Odisha