Heavy rainfall hits part of Odisha, West Bengal; Cyclone Dana predicted to reach today
Intense rainfall hit regions of Odisha and West Bengal on Thursday while officials in both states were racing against time to move hundreds of thousands of people from various coastal areas before cyclone Dana is predicted to reach land later today.
India Meterological Department (IMD) states that cyclone Dana has escalated to a severe cyclonic storm with winds reaching up to 120 kmph, posing a threat to about half of Odisha’s population. Bengal is forecasted to experience heavy rainfall today and tomorrow.
The latest IMD update reported the cyclone’s location as 210 km southeast of Paradip, 240 km south-southeast of Dhamara, and 310 km south of Sagar Island at 8.30 am today. It is anticipated that the landfall will occur between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port, both located in Odisha.
Extremely heavy to very heavy rain is expected in the districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly on Thursday and Friday.
Flight operations at Kolkata airport will stop from 6 pm Thursday to 9 am the following day, while Bhubaneswar airport will halt operations from 5 pm today to 9 am Friday. Close to 200 trains have been called off in the two adjacent states following the cyclone.
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300,000 evacuated in Odisha; 114,000 moved to shelters in West Bengal
By Wednesday evening, approximately 300,000 individuals were evacuated in Odisha, and over 114,000 people were moved to shelters in West Bengal.
The Chief Minister of Odisha, Mohan Charan Majhi, stated that by Wednesday evening, over 30 per cent of the intended 10 lakh individuals had been moved to secure locations. It is probable that three areas will be significantly impacted. Efforts are being made to remove individuals from hazardous areas. He stated that the rest will be escorted to safety by Thursday at 11 am.
The government of Odisha has classified Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore as high-risk zones; Mayurbhanj falls under category two with wind speeds reaching 80-90 kmph, gusting up to 100 kmph; while Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, and Jajpur are categorized under three with wind speeds up to 60-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.
