All you need to know about Cyclone Fani

Cyclone Fani intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Monday and is well onto its path to becoming an extremely severe cyclone by Wednesday according to an IMD report. Here's all you need to know about what it is, where it will hit and so on:

1. Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones are just different names for the same kind of tropical storm that have a low-pressure centre with high wind speeds and heads towards land. The nomenclature depends on which part of the world the storm occurs.

2. Cyclone Fani is named by Bangladesh. It is pronounced "Foni" and loosely translates to "the hood of a snake".

3. Fani is currently a "severe cyclonic storm" with wind speeds exceeding 100 kmph.

4. The government has put the NDRF and Coast Guard on high alert in the event the cyclone intensifies into a "severe cyclonic storm". The Eastern Naval Command has already assumed a high alert in preparedness for the storm.

5. Odisha's 879 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been kept ready. The shelters can accommodate about one million people during cyclones and floods.

6. The IMD has said that the storm could intensify into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". If that happens, the storm's wind speeds could climb to 170-180 kmph.

7. Karnataka could receive rains as a result of Fani, though the storm itself is not likely to make landfall in the state.

8. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the deep sea areas of Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Fishermen already out at sea have been asked to return to immediately.

9. In the past (1891-2017) only 14 severe tropical cyclones formed in April over the Bay of Bengal. Only one storm crossed the Indian mainland. Cyclone Fani is the second storm forming in April and crossing the mainland. Last severe cyclone Nargis in 2008 devastated Myanmar.