Accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, Cyclone Dana made landfall on the Odisha coast between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra around Thursday (October 24) midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The wind speed around the landfall of Cyclone Dana was around 110 kmph.
In an early morning update on Friday, IMD said, “Landfall process continues and the rear sector of the cyclone is entering land. The landfall process would continue for the next 1-2 hours.”
In a post after a few minutes, the IMD said that the severe cyclonic storm “Dana” moved north-northwestwards at 12 kmph and was centered over north coastal Odisha, near Dhamara and Bhitarkanika.
The weather department further said that Cyclone Dana is expected to move west-northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken into a cyclonic storm by October 25 forenoon.
Cyclone Dana wreaks havoc in Odisha
Soon after the landfall, Odisha’s coastal districts – Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and nearby Jagatsinghpur – experienced sudden increase in wind speed.
Most of the coastal areas in Odisha witnessed similar sights of destruction on Friday morning with several trees uprooted and roads blocked.
As per Odisha revenue and disaster management minister, as many as 10 districts are likely to be affected by the cyclone.
IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said Cyclone Dana landfall also accelerated the tidal surge, which could go up to two metres above the astronomical height, in Kendrapada, Balasore and Bhadrak districts.
Did Cyclone Dana create disturbances in West Bengal?
Neighbouring West Bengal, East Midnapore and Kolkata also witnessed the impact of Cyclone Dana.
By 9 pm Thursday, 4,17,626 people had been evacuated in Odisha, while 2,43,374 people had taken shelter in relief camps in West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stayed the entire Thursday night at the state secretariat Nabanna to personally monitor the situation.
High tide waves hit Purba Medinipur, Old Digha beach in West Bengal.
Some parts of Kolkata also experienced a light spell of rain on Friday morning.
The services at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport started at 8:00 am on Friday, while Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, were suspended on Thursday evening as part of precautionary measures. They are, however, expected to resume at 9:00 am on Friday.
Cyclone Dana: What to expect now?
The IMD said that gale of wind speed reaching 60-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is likely along and off south Odisha till Friday morning, which would gradually decrease thereafter.
It has also forecast 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 till October 25.
Red alert in Bhadrak
Additional District Magistrate of Odisha’s Bhadrak, Shantanu Mohanty, said the vulnerable people have already been evacuated and are now in cyclone shelters.
“Electricity and other things have been restored. Fire Services, ODRF, and NDRF teams have been moved,” he said.
“There has been a red alert in Bhadrak as heavy rain is expected. We have conveyed the message to the people not to go out,” he added.
How the cyclone got the name Dana?
The name “Dana” was suggested by Qatar through the World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP).
In Arabic, “Dana” means “generosity.”
This naming convention follows the standard practice in the region, where member countries propose names for upcoming storms.
With inputs from agencies.
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Cyclone Dana makes landfall with heavy rain and strong winds, over a million evacuated
