Mammoth evacuation underway as Dana homes in on Odisha-West Bengal border

BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA: Cyclone Dana is barrelling towards coastal Odisha at a breakneck pace and is expected to make landfall late Thursday night between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra in the state's northern parts near Bengal border, with wind speeds reaching up to 120kmph and heavy rainfall .
Odisha government evacuated three to four lakh people from vulnerable areas. In south Bengal, an official said: "Around 10,000 people have been shifted to shelters, and process is ongoing." Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said: "Districts like Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, and Puri are likely to be more affected, but if path changes, other districts might also be hit" IMD has said Dana will hit coastal Odisha as a severe cyclonic storm. IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said: "A storm surge of up to one to two metres is expected in Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts. After landfall, storm will move through interior Odisha and gradually weaken."

IMD has issued a "great danger signal No-10" for Puri, Dhamra, and Paradip ports, while Gopalpur port is under signal-8 warning. Bhubaneswar airport has announced a suspension of operations from 5pm on October 24 to 9am on October 25.

Kolkata has already begun experiencing heavy rain, which is expected to intensify across south Bengal from Thursday. IMD said wind speeds could reach 60-70kmph in Kolkata, with gusts up to 80kmph, causing disruptions to transportation and power supplies. Kolkata airport will halt flights from 6pm Thursday to 9am Friday. Around 208 flights are likely to be cancelled. Eastern Railway has suspended local train services from Sealdah station from 8pm Thursday to 10am Friday.