Severe Cyclone Dana Makes Landfall On Odisha Coast With High Winds, Heavy Rain

The severe cyclonic storm Dana began making landfall on the Odisha coast on Thursday night, with the process expected to last until Friday morning, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

Coastal areas like Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, and Jagatsinghpur experienced wind speeds of 100 to 110 kmph and heavy rainfall.

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Reports of uprooted trees were received, but no major damage or casualties have been reported so far.

Impact on Coastal Districts

The storm moved north-northwest at 15 kmph over six hours before reaching land between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Dhamra in Bhadrak. Wind speeds reached around 110 kmph during landfall. "The landfall process has commenced and the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into the land," said Umashankar Das, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar.

As the centre of the storm approaches land, wind speeds are expected to increase to 120 kmph. The landfall process is anticipated to last four to five hours. The Doppler weather radar at Paradip is closely monitoring the system. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had enquired about Odisha's preparedness for the cyclone.

Evacuation and Preparedness

The state government has evacuated approximately 5.84 lakh people from high-risk zones in low-lying coastal areas. IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra noted that high-velocity winds of about 120 kmph would persist in the landfall region until Friday morning. The cyclone's impact has also increased tidal surges up to two metres above normal levels in Kendrapada, Balasore, and Bhadrak districts.

The cyclone is expected to weaken gradually on Friday as it moves further inland, causing heavy rainfall across many areas. Gale winds with speeds of 100-110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph, are already affecting north Odisha and will continue until Friday morning before decreasing. South Odisha will experience winds of 60-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, until Friday morning.

Rainfall Predictions

The IMD predicts light-to-moderate rainfall in most places, with heavy-to-very heavy rainfall in some areas. Extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 21 cm is expected in isolated locations within Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Khurda, and Puri districts until October 25.