Cyclone Dana to hit Odisha, Bengal in 48 hours, schools shut, evacuations on

Cyclone Dana will likely cause extremely heavy rainfall in Odisha and West Bengal on October 24 and 25, and heavy rainfall in both states till Friday, the weather body said.

In Short

• Fishermen advised to avoid the sea from Wednesday to Friday due to Cyclone Dana
• Wind speeds may reach up to 100 to 110 kph in Odisha, Bengal from Thursday
• Schools closed in 14 districts in Odisha as precautionary measure

The low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal will likely intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and will likely cause landfall in Odisha's Puri and West Bengal's Sagar Island during Thursday night (October 24) and Friday (October 25), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The cyclonic storm, Dana, will also likely cause extremely heavy rainfall in Odisha and West Bengal on October 24 and 25, and heavy rainfall in both states till Friday, the weather body said.

A low pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea on Monday, which intensified into a depression at around 5.30 am on Tuesday around 730 km from Odisha's Paradip and 740 km from Sagar Island, the weather body said.

It will likely intensify into a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, the weather body said.

Roads and railway services may be affected in coastal areas due to the cyclone.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that Odisha is likely to be the most affected, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and high-speed winds.

Here are top developments as Odisha, West Bengal brace for Cyclone Dana

1. A total of 11 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Odisha and nine teams deployed in West Bengal ahead of the cyclone. Additional rescue and relief teams of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard along with ships and aircraft have been kept in readiness.

   Both state governments have begun evacuating people from coastal areas which will likely be affected by the cyclone.

   The administration in the coastal districts of Orissa and Bengal has prepared schools and community buildings as relief centres.

2. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea and efforts are being made to call back those who are already at sea. Due to the cyclone, highway and railway services may be affected for some time in coastal areas.

3. Odisha Special Relief Commissioner DK Singh has directed the state School and Mass Education department to close schools in 14 districts from Wednesday till Friday as a precautionary measure, news agency PTI reported.

   Schools will remain closed in the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Angul, Khordha, Nayagarh and Cuttack.

4. The weather body has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam and Jagatsinghpur districts in Odisha for Thursday. It has predicted heavy rain for Purba and Paschim Medinipur and North and South 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal on Wednesday.

   It has also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, Purulia and Bankura districts on Thursday and Friday.

5. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed officials to ensure that all people are evacuated from the areas likely to be affected by Cyclone Dana. He also directed them to stock food, water and other necessities in the cyclone shelters in adequate quanitities, PTI reported.

   Majhi said that the state government was fully prepared for the cyclonic storm, and it had set a 'zero casualty' target in the cyclone.

6. The Odisha government has cancelled the leaves of all staff from October 23 to 25 in view of the cyclone forecast, PTI reported.
7. The weather body said that the wind speed will likely be up to 60 kmph off the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal from Wednesday and gradually increase to 100 to 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, from Thursday night till Friday morning.
8. The price of vegetables, including potato and onion has increased in Odisha as consumers resorted to panic buying amid the prediction of cyclone, news agency PTI reported.
9. President Draupadi Murmu's three-day visit to Odisha from Wednesday has been postponed in view of Cyclone Dana. The President was scheduled to visit Bangriposi, Uparbeda, Rairangpur, Puri and Bhubaneswar.
10. Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to West Bengal's Petrapole on Wednesday to inaugurate the Rs 450 crore modern passenger terminal on the Indo-Bangladesh border has also been cancelled due to the cyclone.