Cyclone 'Dana' to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm tomorrow morning: Key updates from IMD

Cyclone 'Dana' is very likely to move northwestward and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal by tomorrow morning, IMD Bhubaneswar Director Manorama Mohanty said on Wednesday.

The storm will cross North Odisha and West Bengal coast between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamra during the night time of Thursday to the morning of Friday as a severe cyclonic storm. While crossing the coast, Mohanty said, the wind speed will be around 100 to 110 km per hour, gusting to 120 km per hour.

Currently, cyclone 'Dana' is around 460 km southeast of Paradip and 490 km south-southeast of Dhamra and 540 km south-southeast of Sagar Island. 

Authorities in Odisha and West Bengal have taken preventive measures to minimise the damage in the coastal districts likely to be hit by the storm.

Cyclone ‘Dana’ threatens to impact nearly half the state's population in 14 districts including Puri. The state government is working on a massive evacuation plan to relocate around 10 lakh people in 14 districts to safety. The weather department has said the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port, around 70km away, early Friday. It said that the landfall process will start from the night of October 24 and will continue till the morning of October 25. 

IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the landfall is mostly a slow process which usually takes around 5-6 hours. During the landfall, a tidal surge of up to 2 metres is expected, with the cyclone reaching the coast at a wind velocity of 120 km/h, Umashankar Das, senior scientist at the regional meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar, said. 

Das warned that low-lying areas in Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts are likely to be inundated and recommended that the government evacuate residents from these regions. To facilitate this, 288 rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and Fire Services have been deployed, with additional personnel requested from the NDRF. 

The Odisha government has identified 14 districts at risk, with the coastal areas facing high winds and inland regions expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. The districts are Angul, Puri, Nayagarh, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, and Mayurbhanj. 

The IMD cautioned that Cyclone 'Dana' would bring significant rainfall to the state, predicting light to moderate rain at most locations, with heavy rainfall (7-11 cm) in isolated areas over Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, and Khordha starting in the evening of October 23. 

On October 24 and 25, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in several places, with isolated areas receiving extremely heavy rainfall (over 21 cm) in districts including Balasore, Mayurbhanj, and Jajpur. The weather department has prohibited all marine activities, including fishing, in the Bay of Bengal until the cyclone has passed. 

The government has postponed the preliminary test of the Odisha civil service examination, 2023. According to a notice issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC), the preliminary examination, which was scheduled to be held on October 27 has been postponed and a fresh date will be notified after seven days. 

Also, the Nandankanan Zoo and State Botanical Garden  will also remain closed for visitors on October 24. Earlier, the authorities had closed Similipal Tiger Reserve and Bhitarkanika National Park for tourists from October 23 to 25.