Cyclone Dana Makes Landfall: Odisha Faces Heavy Rains, Flights Resume as Evacuations Continue

Cyclone Dana Live Updates: Flight Operations Resume in Odisha and West Bengal After Coastal Landfall, Evacuations Underway in High-Risk Areas

Cyclone Dana, which was accompanied by powerful winds and heavy rainfall, made landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra in the early hours of Thursday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it had hit the entire area around 12:10 am, affecting parts of the Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts. IMD regional director in Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty said the process of landfall would continue till Friday morning after which the cyclone would weaken and would take a turn towards Dhenkanal and Angul districts.

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This cyclone would bring the wind speed up by 120 kmph to the coast, making the coastal areas really hazardous. The doppler weather radar from Paradip has been tracking this progress very closely so that authorities can take their measures well in time. Though the intensity of this cyclone is tremendous, it is supposed to lessen after landfall, and the areas inland would get some relief.

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Chief minister of Odisha Mohan Charan Majhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked about the state’s preparedness in case the cyclone affected the state. He said the state had proactively evacuated around 5.84 lakh people living in high-risk coastal areas by shifting them to safer places. The huge evacuation exercise had been done to avert casualties and evacuate vulnerable sections from the low-lying areas.

The Odisha government had gone for evacuation of one million people, but, in re-assessing the situation, officials decided that Cyclone Dana would not be that dangerous after all, hence they adjusted their approach and consolidated all their resources to where it would be really utilized. This brought improvement in the effectiveness of state disaster response activity accordingly.

IMD has predicted extremely heavy rainfall in some districts of Odisha. Heavy to very heavy falls are expected in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jajpur, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj with an amount of 7 to 20 cm rainfall in few places rain might exceed 20cm, the possibility of flood and waterlogging will grow. Altogether with these rains, high speed winds are likely to disturb these districts.

There is going to be a similar pattern of weather from Friday morning until Saturday morning in other districts as well, such as Puri, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, and Angul. People residing in those areas have been advised to be watchful because heavy falls, waterlogging, landslide, or any such issues can arise because of the impact of the storm.

For relief to the travelers, both Odisha and West Bengal have resumed their respective flight operations. After landfall, cyclone Dana put airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata on temporary hold, but now with its weakening, airports are resuming their operation. Travelers are requested to go ahead checking with airlines for any delay or changes in flight schedules.

Quick response of the Odisha government in evacuating the people with better coordination with national leaders has also minimized the damage caused by Cyclone Dana. While this cyclonic storm moves inland and loses power, the focus will be on relief operations with proper protection of the affected community and restoration of essential services in affected areas. The IMD will continue to monitor the advance of this cyclone and keep everyone updated on any change it makes in its further movement.

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