Gopalpur (Odisha) [India], Oct 11 (ANI): Cyclone Titli has made landfall at Odisha's Gopalpur on Thursday.

Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the town in the morning.

Umashankar Das of India Meteorological Department, Odisha said that "heavy rainfall is also expected. Our port warning is highest at 10. Maximum speed will be 150 km/hour."

In the wake of the movement of the cyclone, the state government had beforehand evacuated the people living in low lying areas to relief camps in Gopalpur.

Earlier, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan had also expressed concern over the movement of Cyclone Titli towards the coast and assured that the state and the Centre were ready to tackle the situation.

Speaking to ANI, the Union Minister had said that, "The Cyclone has intensified, which is a matter of concern, but the state is ready to tackle the situation. At the central and the state level, the preparedness is at full swing."

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also visited the Special Relief Commissioner office on Wednesday and reviewed the preparedness to tackle the situation.

On Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha had chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to take stock of preparatory measures in the wake of impending landfall of the cyclonic storm Titli along the coast between Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh.

IMD had classified 'Titli' as a very severe cyclonic storm with very high wind speeds and it was forecasted to hit the coast between Gopalpur and Kalingapatnam in Odisha between 6 AM to 9 AM on October 11, 2018.

After the landfall, the cyclonic storm is expected to re-curve north-eastwards and move long Odisha coast towards Gangetic West Bengal and will cause heavy to very heavy rainfall. (ANI)