New Delhi:

Authorities remained on alert as the landfall of ‘severe’ Cyclone Dana on the Odisha coast began on Thursday night and continued into the early hours of Friday. The coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Balasore witnessed sudden increase in wind speed which reached 100 kmph to 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain. Similar conditions were also witnessed in West Bengal.

The storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph over the past six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in the Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, a senior IMD official said. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state has already evacuated around 5.84 lakh people from the high risk zones located in the low-lying areas of coastal districts.

IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the landfall also accelerated the tidal surge, which could go up to two metres above the astronomical height, in Kendrapada, Balasore and Bhadrak districts. Mohapatra said that the system will continue to remain as the severe cyclonic storm will gradually weaken on Friday and move deeper in the state, triggering heavy rains in most places.

Here are the live updates on Cyclone Dana:

No Calamity Human Mind Cannot Overcome: Bengal Governor

Expressing solidarity with the people in view of cyclone ‘Dana’, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said that it is a moment of crisis but the state has braved many storms and will face this also with “confidence” and “fortitude”.

“Bengal will stand together and we shall overcome. My dear brothers and sisters, please follow all instructions issued by the government and disaster management authority. Please follow dos and don’ts prescribed by them. All the disaster management machinery of the state government and the Government of India are kept well-oiled and fighting fit,” he added.

The West Bengal Governor further asserted that coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success. “There is no calamity that a human mind cannot overcome,” he said.

Cyclone Named “Dana” By Watar. What It Means In Arabic

As per the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Dana’s name was suggested by Qatar. It means “generosity” in Arabic.

The WMO says that assigning names to tropical cyclones makes tracking and discussing specific storms more “straightforward, especially when multiple storms are active simultaneously.”

“Naming also helps to avoid confusion among meteorologists, media, emergency management agencies and the public. Additionally, naming tropical cyclones can aid historical record-keeping and research on storm behaviour and impacts,” the WMO says.

NDTV’s Saurabh Gupta On How States Minimise Impact Of Cyclones

Airport To Open At 9 am; HC To Remain Closed

The Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar suspended flight operations at the airport from Thursday 5 PM to 9 AM on October 25. Earlier, the East Coast Railway had suspended more than 150 trains in view of Cyclone Dana.

All the educational institutions, parks, libraries, and museums located in the affected districts have also been closed.

The Orissa High Court will remain closed on Friday in view of the cyclonic storm.

The Odisha Public Service Commission has also postponed the Odisha Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2023.

What Will Happen Over The Next Few Hours?

Gale with wind speed 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph is already prevailing along and off north Odisha and is likely to continue till Friday morning and decrease gradually thereafter. Gale of wind speed reaching 60-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is likely along and off south Odisha till Friday morning and decrease gradually thereafter, the IMD said.

The weather agency has also said that light-to-moderate rainfall in most places and heavy-to-very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (above 21 cm) at isolated places in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur Keonjhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khurda and Puri districts are expected till October 25.

Cyclone Dana: Which Districts Were Impacted?

In Odisha, the coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and nearby Jagatsinghpur district witnessed sudden increase in wind speed which reached 100 kmph to 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain, as Cyclone Dana’s landfall commenced.

The storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph for six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in the Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, a senior IMD official said.

IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the landfall also accelerated the tidal surge, which could go up to two metres above the astronomical height, in Kendrapada, Balasore and Bhadrak districts. The landfall process of cyclone usually takes five to six hours, he said.

Lakhs Evacuated, Moved To Relief Centres Ahead Of Landfall

Suresh Pujari, Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, said 5.84 lakh people were evacuated, with 7,307 relief centres opened across different districts. 6,454 domestic animals were brought to relief centres, 213 medical teams were deployed to take care of the evacuated people and 120 veterinary teams have also been positioned in different locations.

Moreover, 19 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 51 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and 220 Fire Services teams have been deployed.

Cyclones in the last 10 years
2014: Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

2018: Titli in Odisha

2019: Fani in Odisha

2019: Bulbul in West Bengal

2020: Amphan in West Bengal

Trees uprooted, but no major damage in Odisha

Authorities in Odisha are on alert for snapped power lines and disruption of other services and at daybreak authorities will begin the process of assessing the damage due to winds and heavy rain. 

Reports of trees getting uprooted were received, however, no major damage or casualty was witnessed.

Lakhs evacuated in Odisha, West Bengal

Authorities in Odisha and West Bengal evacuated lakhs of people, shut schools, cancelled more than 400 trains, and suspended flight operations as they braced for the severe cyclonic storm.

The services at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport and Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, which were suspended on Thursday evening as part of precautionary measures, will resume at 9 am today.

Landfall brings heavy rains, gusty winds to Odisha, Bengal

The landfall of Cyclone Dana began on the Odisha coast on Thursday night and continued into the early hours of Friday, leading to heavy rain and strong winds of 110kmph, gusting up to 120kmph. 

Reports of trees being uprooted have come in from Dhamra where the cyclone made landfall. East Midnapore in West Bengal is witnessing the impact of the cyclone the most and places like Digha have witnessed heavy rainfall.