Bhubaneshwar/Kolkata: Hundreds of trees were uprooted and power supply to several areas were snapped along the coastal Odisha as cyclonic storm Dana began its landfall with wind speed of around 100-110km per hour since Thursday late night.
The storm made landfall around midnight between Bhitarkanika in the Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak. The landfall process of Cyclone Dana began on the Odisha coast around midnight with the districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur witnessing wind speeds of 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) update around 10am, the landfall process was completed and the system took at least eight and half hours to enter the landmass. “Dana, which was named by Qatar, is likely to weaken gradually in the next six hours,” said the IMD press note.
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Reports said that a number of trees got uprooted in the coastal districts and some areas were inundated with seawater in Odisha. State chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi claimed that the state has achieved its “Zero Casualty Mission” as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life or injury due to the severe cyclonic storm.
Cyclone impact in West Bengal
Impact of cyclone Dana was not so severe in West Bengal. No major devastation was reported from the two coastal districts of East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas, which the weather office had predicted would be the worst hit in the state.
Torrential rain, which began late Thursday night in different districts of South Bengal including the state capital of Kolkata, was continuing. As per predictions of the Regional Meteorological Office in Kolkata, heavy showers will continue in the districts of South Bengal throughout the day and the intensity of the rainfall is expected to recede in the evening.
Also Read: Cyclone Dana: Odisha govt gears up for landfall on Friday morning
According to the WB administration, the maximum impact during the landfall process was reported from coastal Sundarbans areas like Namkhana, Sagar Islands and Patharpratima, where several trees were uprooted because of heavy wind. Trident lampposts, especially near the ‘Kapil Muni Ashram’ in Sagar Island, too were severely damaged.
Flight operation at Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata airports resumes
The services at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport and Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, which were suspended on Thursday evening as part of precautionary measures, resumed at 8 am today.
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Authorities in both states evacuated lakhs of people, shut schools, cancelled more than 400 trains, and suspended flight operations as they braced for the severe cyclonic storm.
5.9 lakh people evacuated in Odisha
In Odisha, the state government claimed to have evacuated about 5.8 lakh people and deployed 385 rescue teams comprising National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) 51, Fire Service and Forest staff.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said 2,43,374 people have taken shelter in camps. She also stayed the entire Thursday night at the state secretariat and personally monitored the situation.
