Cyclonic storm 'Dana' originating from the Bay of Bengal is making landfall on Odisha coast since around 12.30 am. According to the IMD, the storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph in six hours before landfall. Its landfall process will last for 5 hours and it will pass over the northern part of Odisha at a speed of 120 kmph.
It made landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district with winds of around 110 kmph. Due to the storm, trees have fallen in many areas including Dhamra. This storm is also affecting West Bengal.
Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport has been closed from 6 pm on Thursday to 9 am on Friday. At the same time, in view of the threat of Dana, the West Bengal government has so far evacuated 1,59,837 people from the affected areas. Out of them 83,537 people have been shifted to relief camps.
Due to the impact of Dana, it is raining along the coast of Odisha. Some places including Bhadrak, Kendrapara may receive more than 30 cm i.e. 12 inches (one foot) of rain. Up to 20 cm of rain is likely in the rest of the coastal areas. One million people have been evacuated from 14 districts of Odisha.
According to the map released by the Meteorological Department, the cyclone will hit the coast of Odisha, causing heavy rainfall in West Bengal as well.
4 pictures of the impact of the storm…
Watch today at 6 AM in Bhadrak. It is raining heavily.
A tree uprooted and fell due to the impact of the storm in Dhamra of Odisha's Bhadrak district.
Strong winds are blowing with heavy rain in Dhamra.
The storm caused high waves at Old Digha Beach in East Medinipur, West Bengal.
4 pictures before the storm made landfall…
People were alerted before the storm made landfall at Puri Beach in Odisha.
Heavy winds and rain are still blowing in Bhadrak 12 hours before the storm reaches the coast.
Local police evacuated children and people from coastal areas of Odisha to safe places.
People are being moved to a relief camp in Odisha's Bhadrak ahead of the storm.
300 flight cancellations and 552 trains canceled in 16 hours at two airports About 300 flights will be canceled at Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports for 16 hours from 5 pm on Thursday to 9 am on October 25.
Here South East Railway has canceled 150 trains, East Coast Railway 198 trains, Eastern Railway 190 trains and South East Central Railway 14 trains. A total of 552 trains have been cancelled.
All temporary tents have been removed from the Jagannath temple premises in Puri. Sandbags are placed on the asbestos roof. So that it does not fly away. While Konark temple is closed for two days.
288 teams of NDRF and Fire Brigade deployed in Odisha
Odisha has deployed 288 teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Relief Force (ODRF) and Fire Brigade.
Schools and colleges will remain closed till October 25 in 14 storm-affected districts. Along with all the tourism parks in these districts, the Odisha High Court has also closed them till October 25. Holidays of government employees have been cancelled.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Mazi held a high-level meeting to review the preparedness to deal with the storm.
Understand from the graphic where the storm will come from, how it will hit and what its shape will be.
Storm shape in Met Office map. After hitting the coast, its impact will be seen for about 400 km.
Impact of cyclone 'Dana' in 7 states
1. Odisha Effect: 14 out of 30 coastal districts of Odisha are likely to have a widespread impact. The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rains in Angul, Nayagarh, Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Kenduzhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khurda, Ganjam and Puri districts from October 24 to 26.
Preparation: 20 teams of Odisha NDRF, 51 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Force (ODRF) and 178 teams of Fire Brigade have been deployed. 6 thousand relief camps have been established. Hotel bookings have been closed for the next four days.
2. West Bengal Effect: Heavy rain is expected in East Medinipur, West Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas, while Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and Jhargram are likely to receive heavy rain.
Preparation: Schools have been closed from October 23 to 26 in eight districts of West Bengal – South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Purva Medinipur, West Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah and Kolkata. 85 relief teams have been deployed in the state.
3.Andhra Pradesh Effect: Winds of 30 to 50 kmph are expected along with heavy rain in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.
Preparation: 9 teams of NDRF have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh.
4. Jharkhand
Effect: East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Simdega, Serakela-Kharsavan, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Dumka, Giridih, Godda, Jamtara may receive rain.
Preparation: 9 teams of NDRF have been deployed in Jharkhand.
5. Chhattisgarh
Effect: Meteorological department has declared yellow alert for 8 districts today. Scattered rain may occur in the next three days from October 25 to 27. On October 25 and 26, winds of up to 40 kmph are expected.
Preparation: A team of NDRF has been deployed in Chhattisgarh.
6. Bihar: Its impact will be seen in Bhagalpur, Banka, Jamui, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Lakhisarai, Nawada, Gaya, Katihar, Purnia, Kishanganj. Wind gusts of 20 to 40 km per hour will prevail in many districts.
7. Tamil Nadu : The IMD has issued a five-day heavy rainfall warning for Tamil Nadu in southern India and several states in eastern India.
7 photos of the preparation…
Indian Navy personnel have also been deployed to deal with the storm.
Navy has made full preparations before cyclone hits Odisha. The soldiers are taking the boat.
Five teams of NDRF's 7th Battalion reached Odisha's Bhubaneswar Airport on Tuesday night.
The Indian Air Force airlifted an NDRF team, 150 soldiers and relief material to Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
IL76 and AN32 aircraft were flown to Bhubaneswar from Bathinda, Punjab. These planes reached here on Wednesday morning.
Relief material was also brought by an Indian Air Force aircraft.
This tourist parking lot in Puri remained empty all day on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia gave the name 'Dana', meaning generosity Saudi Arabia named the storm 'Dana'. It means generosity. If the speed of a storm is more than 62 km per hour, it becomes necessary to give it a special name. If these turbulent winds reach or exceed 137 kmph, it is called a cyclonic storm.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
