Cyclone Dana: Heavy rain in Odisha, Bengal as landfall approaches, flights hit

Cyclone Dana News: Authorities in Odisha have already evacuated more than 3 lakh people by Wednesday evening in view of cyclone Dana that is threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population.

In Short

• Odisha targets evacuation of 10 lakh before cyclone Dana makes landfall
• Cyclone Dana to hit between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra
• Kolkata, Bhubaneswar airports to suspend operations until Friday morning

Heavy rain lashed parts of Odisha and West Bengal on Thursday as authorities in the two states were racing against time to evacuate lakhs from several coastal districts before cyclone Dana's expected landfall tonight.

According to the India Meterological Department (IMD), cyclone Dana, which has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds likely to reach up to 120 kmph, is threatening to impact nearly half of Odisha's population, with Bengal expected to witness extremely heavy to very heavy rain today and tomorrow.

In its latest update, the IMD said the cyclone lay 210 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 240 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 310 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal) as of 8.30 am today. The landfall is expected to take place between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port, both in Odisha.

On Thursday and Friday, Bengal's districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, will receive extremely heavy to very heavy rain.

While the Kolkata airport will suspend flight operations from 6 pm on Thursday to 9 am tomorrow, the Bhubaneswar airport will suspend its operations from 5 pm today to 9 am on Friday. Nearly 200 trains have been cancelled running through the two neighbouring states in the wake of the cyclone.

In Odisha, about 3 lakh people were evacuated by Wednesday evening, while West Bengal has shifted over 1.14 lakh people to shelters.

Here are the latest developments:

1. Indian Navy is preparing to conduct Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in Odisha and Bengal in the wake of the cyclone. As part of this assistance, essential clothing, drinking water, food, medicines, and emergency relief materials, have been deployed by road to key locations in the areas that are likely to be affected. In addition, flood relief and diving teams are being mobilised to assist in coordinated operations if required.

2. The Odisha state government has categorised Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts as high-risk zones; Mayurbhanj under category two where wind speeds would be at 80-90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph; Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Jajpur come under category three where wind speeds would be at 60-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

   The districts of Puri, Khurda (comprising Bhubaneswar), Dhenkanal and Keonjhar come under category four where wind speeds will be at 60-70 kmph, gusting to 80 kmph.

3. Great danger signal number 10 has been issued at Odisha's Dhamra, Paradip and Puri ports, and great danger signal number 8 at Gopalpur port. Port operations in Paradip and Dhamra remain suspended, with Dhamra likely to be worst hit by the cyclone as the eye of the storm is likely to pass through the port town.
4. From Wednesday to Friday, the East Coast Railway has cancelled 198 trains in view of the cyclone. The Eastern Railway also announced that it will not operate 190 local trains in Bengal's Sealdah division from 8 pm Thursday till 10 am Friday. The South Eastern Railway has cancelled over 150 trains passing through or originating from Odisha.
5. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force have been placed on standby in both Odisha and West Bengal. Additional rescue personnel from the Indian Coast Guard, Navy and the Army have also been deployed.
6. As of Wednesday night, authorities in Bengal have moved more than 1.14 lakh people to evacuation centres. The state government has identified 2,82,863 people from Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, Paschim and Purba Medinipur, and Kolkata for evacuation districts.
7. Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over West Bengal's North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across the Hooghly river in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled.
8. West Bengal has set up a task force and control room to assist the public in this hour of need. Governor CV Ananda Bose has advised the people not to panic, to be resilient, and to follow the protocol and instructions.
9. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea until Friday, with wind speeds likely to reach 60 kmph along the Odisha-West Bengal coastline, increasing to 120 kmph during landfall.
10. The NDRF has deployed a total of 56 teams in Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in view of cyclone-triggered heavy rainfall. There are 20 teams in Odisha, out of which one is in reserve, while of the 17 in West Bengal, 13 are in reserve.