Cyclone Fani: Indian Navy on high alert

CHENNAI: The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) has geared up to provide necessary humanitarian assistance along the coast as cyclonic storm Fani has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and has reached 770km East-South-East of Chennai.
Indian Naval ships at Visakhapatnam and Chennai are on standby to proceed to the most affected areas to undertake humanitarian aid distress relief (HADR), evacuation and logistic support including providing medical aid, said a press release.
These ships have additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material that include food, tents, clothes, medicines, blankets. Naval aircraft are on standby at the naval air stations INS Rajali at Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, and INS Dega at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to undertake reconnaissance, rescue, casualty evacuation and air drop of relief material to the stranded if required.
The naval command is monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal closely and Flag Officer Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area(FOTNA) and Naval Officers-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh) and (Odisha) are in constant communication with state administrations to augment rescue and relief operations.