Cyclone Dana: Odisha, Bengal on alert, trains cancelled, relief teams on standby

The Odisha and West Bengal governments have expedited the evacuation of people from coastal areas as the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ on Wednesday morning.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclone is expected to hit Odisha’s coast between Bhitarkanika Park and Dhamra Port from the night of October 24 to the morning of October 25.
Wind speeds are expected to reach 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph during the cyclone’s landfall, the weather body said in its press statement.

The cyclone was centred about 560 km southeast of Odisha’s Paradip and 600 km south-southeast of West Bengal’s Sagar Island at 8.30 am today, the IMD’s latest bulletin said.

Cyclone Dana will make landfall in Odisha.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that Odisha is likely to be the most affected, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and high-speed winds.