Cyclone Fani hit India's coastline on Friday 3 May with winds gusting at more than 190kmh. It is one of the strongest storms to hit the region.
The cyclone hit the poorest state of Odisha the hardest, leaving many without power and communications lines. It then crossed over India’s West Bengal state and into north-east Bangladesh.
The cyclone has caused heavy devastation: uprooted trees, airport closures, electricity shortages, and damage to homes.
We've helped people in India and Bangladesh to prepare for disasters over the last several years, but we need your support to respond to the scale of need.
How we're responding
In India
Our local partners are already responding quickly in India, prioritising the most vulnerable.
They're airlifting shelter items and providing food parcels and water filters to those in relief camps and cyclone shelters.
In Bangladesh
Our partners are active on the ground and assessing the situation. We have tarpaulin for shelters and chlorine tablets for safe drinking water ready to be distributed.
We are also responding with cash grants for shelter repair, floor mats, hygiene and dignity kits, and are providing safe drinking water and food.
Your donations are providing:
- Food
- Shelter
- Hygiene kits
Cyclone Fani: what we know so far
- Tens of millions of people are in the cyclone’s path, and more than a million people were evacuated away from the coast in India alone.
- Stretches of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause flooding.
- The local authorities have set up around 850 shelters.
- The Indian Red Cross is operating 65 shelters in Odisha state, with a capacity of 1,000 to 3,000 people in each. They can withstand winds of 400km/h (248mph) and storm surges of 1.5m.
- A total of 59 million people in Bangladesh could be exposed to cyclone wind or a deep depression. Communities are on alert for evacuation orders related to Fani, which has since been downgraded from a 'severe extreme cyclonic storm' to a 'very severe storm'.
We're based in countries affected by disasters so we can be there before, during and after an emergency to save lives and support people long term.