Lakhs evacuated in Odisha and Bengal as cyclonic storm 'Dana' makes landfall

The IMD forecasts extremely heavy rainfall and a tidal surge of up to 2 metres during landfall

BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA: Authorities in Odisha and West Bengal evacuated lakhs of residents, closed schools, canceled over 400 train services, and suspended flight operations on Thursday in anticipation of the severe cyclonic storm 'Dana'.

The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm Dana began on Thursday night and was expected to continue till Friday morning, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

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

"The landfall started with the entry of the outer cloud mass of the system. When the centre of the system reaches land, wind speeds are expected to reach 120 kmph," Umashankar Das, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, said.

Das noted that the landfall process will last for about four to five hours till Friday morning.

DRF, 51 from ODRAF, 220 from the Fire Service, and 95 from the Forest Department. Additionally, 150 platoons of Odisha Police personnel, each consisting of 30 members, are actively engaged in rescue operations, road clearing, and other activities on the ground.