Cyclone Dana | Heavy rains lash Odisha, West Bengal as landfall approaches

Moderate to heavy rains lashed Odisha and West Bengal while the sea was turbulent on Thursday (October 24) as a severe cyclonic storm, ‘Dana’, rapidly approached the two coastal states, throwing life out of gear.

Parts of neighbouring Jharkhand also braced for heavy to very heavy rainfall from late Thursday under the influence of the cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The cyclone is likely to make landfall between the Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha on early Friday, packing wind speeds of up to 120 km per hour.

Heavy rainfall in Odisha

The weather system lay 280 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 370 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 2.30 am, an IMD bulletin said.

Also Read: Cyclone Dana: 3 lakh evacuated in Odisha; 6 coastal districts most vulnerable

The highest rainfall of 62 mm was recorded at Paradip in Odisha. Rajnagar in the state’s Kendrapara district received 24 mm rain in just four hours, the Met Department said.

Moderate to intense rain and thunderstorms with wind speeds of 30-40 kmph were expected to hit parts of Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Puri districts during the day.

In Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi chaired a high-level meeting and reviewed the preparedness for the cyclone. Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari was also present.

Roads in some areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Bhitarkania and Puri were blocked after the strong winds uprooted trees, officials said.

Downpour imminent in Bengal

In West Bengal, officials said the cyclonic storm was set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern districts, including the city of Kolkata.

Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea as wind speeds in the affected region were likely to increase gradually to 100-120 kmph till Friday morning and decrease thereafter.

The coastal districts of Bengal are already experiencing moderate to heavy rains as well as gusty winds since early Thursday. Kolkata woke up to an overcast sky and intermittent showers.

The IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy downpour in isolated places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts on Thursday and Friday.

Jharkhand braces for rains

In Jharkhand, an ‘orange’ alert has been issued in the Kolhan region covering West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan and East Singhbhum districts for Friday, an official said in Ranchi. This category of alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging from 115 mm to 204 mm in 24 hours.

Also Read:  Cyclone Dana: Kolkata airport to suspend flights for 15 hrs, many trains cancelled

“Apart from heavy rain, the region might also experience thunderstorms and gusty winds with speeds of up to 60 kmph,” Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said.

Several parts of central Jharkhand, including Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Gumla and Ramgarh, may also experience heavy rainfall on Friday, he said.

Train services badly hit

More than 170 express and passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway (SER) jurisdiction have been cancelled, an official said.

The Kolkata-headquartered SER zone is spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. The Eastern Railway cancelled 68 suburban trains on the Howrah division on Friday morning.