Puri, Odisha: Three people have died as Cyclone Fani slammed Odisha on Friday morning, uprooting trees and electricity poles, and cut off power supply in many parts of the state.

Large areas in the temple town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rain battered the coast, according to officials, reports the ndtv.com.

Strong winds were seen in parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal as well. The cyclonic storm, is weakening gradually, is expected to West Bengal by early tomorrow morning.

The Odisha government has evacuated over 11 lakh people from the coastal areas to camps on higher grounds. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and disaster management agencies are on stand-by.

‘I assure the affected people that the nation and the centre are with them,’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Rajasthan. He said over Rs. 1,000 crore had been released in advance for the states affected by Cyclone Fani.