Gusty Winds, Heavy Rain Lash Parts Of Odisha As Cyclone Dana Makes Landfall

Cyclone Dana continues to batter Odisha with gusty winds and heavy rain as it approaches landfall at a speed of 10 kmph, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The landfall process for Cyclone Dana began on Thursday night and is expected to continue till Friday morning.

Source : PTI

Gusty winds and heavy rainfall have been continuing to lash parts of Odisha as the landfall process of Cyclone Dana is underway. According to India Meteorological Department the cyclonic storm is moving north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph. 

"The severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST of today, the 25th October, over north coastal Odisha near latitude 21.00° n and longitude 86.85°e, about 20 km north-northwest of Dhamara and 40 km north-northwest of Habalikhati nature camp (Bhitarkanika)," said the IMD in a post on X. 

"Landfall process continues and the rear sector of the cyclone is entering into land. the landfall process would continue for next 1-2 hours. it is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards across north odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by the forenoon of today, the 25th October," it added.

The inclement weather condition uprooted trees as the coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, and nearby Jagatsinghpur district witnessed sudden increase in wind speed which reached 100 kmph to 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain.

#WATCH | Odisha: Turbulent sea, gusty winds and rainfall hit Dhamra, Bhadrak as an impact of #CycloneDana.

Around 5.84 lakh people have been evacuated till now to shelters, as per Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. pic.twitter.com/RzdewkYhje

— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2024

However, there have been no reports of any major damage or casualty so far, as per a PTI report. 

On Thursday, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that his government was well-prepared to tackle the post-landfall situation and took adequate measures to mitigate potential impacts. 

He visited the control room at the Special Relief Commissioner's office in Bhubaneswar. 

The CM said that a total of 5,84,888 people had been evacuated and the number could exceed 6,00,000 by Friday morning. 

Majhi said that Balasore district saw the highest evacuation with 172,916 people taken to safety, followed by Mayurbhanj with 100,000. Additionally, 75,000 people were evacuated from Bhadrak, 58,000 from Jajpur, and 46,000 from Kendrapara.

"These people are lodging in 6,008 cyclone shelters, where they are being provided with food, medicine, water, and other essential supplies," he added. 

Among the evacuees, 1,600 of 4,431 pregnant women shifted to health centres due to Cyclone Dana gave birth. 

CM Majhi clarified that his government had initially aimed to evacuate 10 lakh people but the target was adjusted based on the changing trajectory of Cyclone Dana.