• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Fri, 25 Oct 2024 12:42 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Cyclone Dana Updates: Severe cyclonic storm Dana made landfall late Thursday. Lakhs of people across West Bengal and Odisha were evacuated ahead of the landfall. The cyclone was expected to hit ashore between the Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha with squalls of speeds up to 120 kmph.

CYCLONE DANA LANDFALL LATEST UPDATES

- In an alert on social media platform X at 12:31 am Friday (October 25), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, "Severe Cyclonic storm 'DANA' landfall process has commenced. It lay near latitude 20.5° N and longitude 87.1°E, about 50 km east-northeast of Paradip (Odisha), 40 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 160 km southwest of Sagar Island (West Bengal)."

- The alert added, "It is very likely to move north-northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) during next 3 to 4 hours as a severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting 120 kmph. Landfall process has commenced and the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land. The landfall process would continue till today, the 25th October morning."

- At least 3.5 lakh people across Odisha have been shifted to 4,756 relief centres, the state's disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said on Thursday.

- Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said that his government was aiming to achieve "zero causalities".

- In neighbouring West Bengal, authorities evacuated more than 2.5 lakh people as heavy rains and gusty winds lashed the southern districts of the state, news agency PTI reported.

- Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said she would be monitoring the situation personally from the state secretariat. "I will be staying in Nabanna tonight till the time of landfall (of cyclone 'Dana')," she had stated.

-  Flight operations at Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport were suspended from 6 pm on Thursday until 9 am on Friday in view of predicted high winds and heavy rain.

- Similarly, the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar suspended flight services for 16 hours starting 5 pm Thursday. 

- The East Coast Railway diverted, short-terminated or cancelled around 203 trains to ensure public safety. "No passenger train will be travelling in the cyclone-affected zones...We have diverted or short terminated or cancelled around 203 trains. Special emphasis is being laid on Bhubaneswar to Bhadrak and Paradeep sections," said Parmeshwar Funkwal, General Manager of East Coast Railway.

(With inputs from agencies)