Schools have been shut and over 150 trains cancelled as Odisha and West Bengal brace for Cyclone “Dana”, which is likely to cross the coasts between Puri and Sagar Island in the early hours of October 25 with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) this morning said that a deep depression over the east-central Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm ‘Dana’.
At 5.30 am today, the system lay 560 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 630 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal), it said.
It is very likely to move in a northwestward direction and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay of Bengal by Thursday morning, the premier weather agency said.
The Met department advised fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 25.
In Odisha, all educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities have been shut in 14 districts till October 25 ahead of Cyclone Dana’s landfall.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi-led Odisha government has cancelled leave for its employees and placed all coastal districts on high alert.
The Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire service personnel have also been put on standby, with particular attention to the districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam and Khorda.