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 the northwest Bay of Bengal by tomorrow morning, Manorama Mohanty, director of the ‘IMD Bhubaneshwar.

The storm will cross northern Odisha and coastal West Bengal between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamra, on Thursday night to Friday morning as a severe cyclonic storm. Crossing the coast, Mohanty said, the wind speed will be around 100 to 110 km/h, with gusts to 120 km/h.

Currently, cyclone ‘Dana’ is about 460 km south-east of Paradip, 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 minimize damage in coastal districts likely to be affected by the storm.

Cyclone ‘Dana’ threatens to affect almost half of the state’s population in 14 districts, including Puri. The state government is working on a mass evacuation plan to safely resettle around 10 lakh people in 14 districts. The meteorological department said the cyclone was likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port, about 70 km away, early Friday. He said the landing process would begin on the night of October 24 and continue until the morning of October 25.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said landing is usually a slow process which usually takes around 5-6 hours. Upon landfall, a tidal wave of up to 2 meters is expected as the cyclone reaches the coast with wind gusting at 120 kmph, said Umashankar Das, senior scientist at the regional meteorological center in Bhubaneswar.

Das warned that low-lying areas of Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts were at risk of flooding and recommended the government to evacuate residents of these areas. 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 staff requested from the NDRF.

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

The IMD warned that cyclone ‘Dana’ would bring significant rainfall to the state, forecasting light to moderate rain at most places, with heavy rainfall (7 to 11 cm) in isolated areas of Balasore, Bhadrak , Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Khordha. from the evening of October 23.

On October 24 and 25, heavy to very heavy rains are expected at several places with isolated areas receiving extremely heavy rains (over 21 cm) in Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur districts. The weather department has banned all maritime activities, including fishing, in the Bay of Bengal until the cyclone passes.

The government has postponed the preliminary examination of the Odisha Civil Services Examination, 2023. According to a notification 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 new date will be notified after seven days.

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