Cyclone Dana landfall process began late night 12:45am and continued till 5:30 am to 6:00 am, said the Meteorological Department. The storm is likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and nearby Jagatsinghpur district witnessed sudden increase in wind speed which reached 100 kmph to 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain. A revenue department official said reports of trees getting uprooted were also received at the office of the Special Relief Commissioner. However, there was no report of any major damage or casualty so far even as the landfall process started more than an hour ago, the official said.
Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across River Hooghly in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled in view of the impending inclement weather, officials said. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has opened a control room at its headquarters and cancelled the leaves of all essential staff to tackle any emergency. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is on high alert and has mobilised its vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency over the Bay of Bengal. It said the ICG has mobilised its vessels and aircraft, positioning them strategically to respond swiftly to any emergencies.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state had identified more than 3.5 lakh people for evacuation from low-lying areas. As of Thursday, 243,374 people had already taken shelter in relief camps.
PM reviews preparedness
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reviewed the state's preparedness for the approaching cyclone Dana with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and reassured central support. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Deputy Inspector General Mohsen Shahedi said that 20 teams are deployed in Odisha and 17 teams in West Bengal in preparation for severe cyclonic storm Dana's landfall.
