Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Dana intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Thursday morning and is fast approaching the Odisha coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed today. It is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra between Thursday night and Friday early morning.
Currently, Cyclone ‘Dana’ is 280 km from Paradip and 310 km from Dhamra. It has been moving north-northwestwards for the past 6 hours at a speed of 15 km per hour.
It is feared that the wind speed in Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts will be 100 to 120 km per hour at the time of landfall. Along with this, high tides are expected to bring down trees, electricity poles and thatched houses. It has been raining in the coastal districts since Wednesday due to the influence of the impending cyclone.
According to the IMD, the landfall of Cyclone Dana is likely to continue for 5 hours.
Cyclone ‘Dana’ is likely to have maximum impact in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak. These districts will experience very heavy rain and wind along with adjacent districts of Puri, Khurdha, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal.
Heavy to very heavy rain is likely on Thursday and Friday while the danger signal number is continuously being increased for the cyclone in Puri, Paradip, Gopalpur and Dhamra ports.
Meanwhile, Fire Services, ODRAF and NDRF teams are ready to deal with Cyclone Dana. A total of 182 Fire Services teams have been deployed in 13 districts, while 51 ODRAF and 19 NDRF teams are on alert in the vulnerable areas.
