Heavy Rains Batter Odisha; Uprooted Trees, Roadblocks Hit State As Cyclone Dana Makes Landfall | Updates

Coastal Odisha faced intense winds and rainfall as Cyclone Dana, classified as a severe cyclonic storm with gusts reaching up to 110 km/h, made landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra shortly after midnight on Thursday, 24 October, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The landfall process is anticipated to continue into the morning hours of Friday, 25 October, the IMD noted.

Photo Credit: PTI

The coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, and nearby Jagatsinghpur saw a sudden spike in wind speeds. A revenue department official reported receiving updates of uprooted trees at the Special Relief Commissioner's office.

Several roads in Bhadrak district were blocked due to downed trees, following strong winds and heavy rain.

In a post on X, the IMD announced, "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)."

Tropical Cyclone Dana Tracker: 10 Latest Updates

1. As of now, no significant damage or casualties have been reported, despite the landfall process of Cyclone Dana commencing in the night between 24 and 25 October.

2. The storm travelled north-northwest at 15 km/h over the past six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, with wind speeds around 110 km/h, according to Umashankar Das, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, speaking to PTI.

3. Wind speeds are expected to reach up to 120 km/h as the storm's centre crosses onto land, and the landfall process is predicted to last roughly four to five hours. "The system is under continuous surveillance of the Doppler weather radar at Paradip," Das noted.

4. Around 6 am on Friday, IMD director Manorama Mohanty stated that the cyclone was about 15 km north of Dhamra and 30 km northwest of Bhitarkanika. "Now the current intensity is a severe cyclonic storm and wind speed is to 100-110 km/hr...landfall process continues. It will continue for next 1-2 hours. It is likely to West northwestward across North Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm," Mohanty told ANI.

5. Odisha's revenue and disaster management minister reported that approximately 10 districts are likely to be impacted, and the evacuation process is already complete.

6. Minister Pujari said, "Around 10 districts are likely to be affected by the cyclone, comprising 60 blocks, 2131 villages, 12 urban local bodies, and 55 wards in different urban local bodies... Three lakh seventy-seven thousand people have already been evacuated... We have prepared 7307 relief centres across different districts. 4,756 cyclone relief centres are already operational...6454 domestic animals have been brought to relief centres...213 medical teams have been deployed to take care of the evacuated people 120 veterinary teams have also been positioned in different locations," as quoted by ANI.

7. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi mentioned that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had checked in on the state's readiness to handle the cyclone's effects. He confirmed that Odisha has already relocated around 5.84 lakh individuals from high-risk, low-lying coastal areas.

8. IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra stated that the landfall also triggered a tidal surge which could rise up to two metres above astronomical height in Kendrapada, Balasore, and Bhadrak districts.

9. Gale-force winds reaching 60-80 km/h, gusting up to 90 km/h, are expected along and off southern Odisha until Friday morning, gradually decreasing thereafter, the IMD said.

10. The IMD has also forecast light-to-moderate rainfall in many areas, heavy-to-very heavy rainfall in some places, and extremely heavy rainfall (over 21 cm) in isolated locations across Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Khurda, and Puri districts until 25 October.

(With agency inputs)