1. South India and Odisha was put on alert recently for what had been developing into India’s worst cyclonic storm since 2006. This was Cyclone Fani, that had been hovering off the east coast of southern India. 
   Cyclone Fani is the first cyclone to be categorised “severe” by the Indian meteorological department since Cyclone Mala made landfall in Myanmar in 2006.
2. The Government started preparation and evacuation strategies as soon as the intimation was made.The government had put the NDRF and the Indian Coast Guard on high alert. 
3. The National Crisis Management Committee, the countries top body to deal with the emergency had assured all the state governments concerned of all assistance from the centre in facing the storm. The NDRF and the Indian Coast Guard had been put on high alert, and the fishermen had been asked not to venture into the sea in the wake of the approaching cyclone.
4. The IMD was issuing 3-hourly bulletins with latest forecasts to all states concerned. The Home Ministry was also in continuous touch with the relevant State Governments, and Central agencies. The national crisis management committee also met in the national capital. 
5. The word cyclone is derived from the Greek words ‘cyclos’, that means ‘coiling of a snake’.
6. A cyclone(Tropical Cyclone to be specific) is formed when the warm temperature of the sea reaches a threshold level and the wind structure is rising. In simple words, cyclones derive their energies from the warm tropical oceans and do not form unless the sea surface temperatures is above 26.5 degrees Celsius. However, once formed, they can persist at lower temperatures and dissipate over land or colder oceans. The originate over the sea and travel about 300-500 kilometers a day.
7. The IMD scale uses 7 different classifications for systems within the north Indian ocean. Tropical cyclones are amongst the most destructive natural hazards in the world.