Cyclone Dana Updates: 'No Casualty', Says Odisha CM Majhi; Flight, Train Ops Resume In Kolkata

• Cyclone Dana made landfall around 12:10 am between Odisha's Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district on Friday.

• Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday claimed that the state has achieved its "Zero Casualty Mission" as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life or injury in the severe cyclonic storm Dana which made landfall in the coast on Thursday night.

• Flight operations resumed at Kolkata airport in West Bengal from 8 am on Friday.

• People in Odisha's Kendrapara district, which was on the path of cyclone Dana, heaved a sigh of relief as the severe cyclonic storm largely spared the coastal district on Friday. While there is no report of loss of life and property, tidal surges made inroads into some of the villages and agriculture fields have come to light.

• Large parts of Kolkata faced severe waterlogging during the morning hours of Friday as cyclone Dana brought torrential rain in its aftermath, inundating areas across the city.

Cyclone Dana Landfall: The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' began on Odisha coast on Thursday night and is expected to continue till Friday morning, the Indian 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.

Coast guard on high alert- The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has been on high alert in light of the cyclone hitting the states. Several vessels and aircraft have been mobilised in a bid to respond swiftly to any contingency owing to the cyclone.

CM's directions- In view of the possibility of torrential rainfall and other cyclone-related damages, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi urged all the MLAs to coordinate with the administration in rescue and relief operations in Odisha, which is likely to bear the brunt of the cyclone. In abid to ensure the CM's “zero casualty” goal, the state government has prepared an action plan for deployment of NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Services.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), "The severe cyclonic storm “dana” (pronounced as dana) moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST of today, the 25th October, over north coastal odisha near latitude 21.00° n and longitude 86.85°e, about 20 km north-northwest of dhamara and 40 km north-northwest of habalikhati nature camp (bhitarkanika)."

"Landfall process continues and the rear sector of the cyclone is entering into land. The landfall process would continue for next 1-2 hours. It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards across north odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by forenoon of today, the 25th October", IMD added.

As the landfall process in still underway, gusty winds and heavy downpour have caused destruction in Dhamra, Bhadrak. On Friday, the landfall process began at around 12:10 am between Odisha's Dhamra Port and Bhitarkanika.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee continues to monitor the situation from state Government Control Room in Howrah as landfall of Cyclone Dana is underway. A 24X7 helpline number (2214 3526) and some associated phone numbers have been made functional for monitoring and sharing information.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi monitors the situation at State Emergency Control Room, Rajiv Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Deveral trees have fallen in Dhamra owing to gusty winds as the landfall process in still underway.

Flight operations remain suspended at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar. "Airport operation will be suspended from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 due to cyclone Dana," an official statement said.

In view of the predictions of adverse weather conditions, the Kolkata airport authorities suspended flight operations for 15 hours from 6 pm on Thursday.

“In view of cyclone Dana's impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, it has been decided to suspend the flight operations from 6 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall at Kolkata,” an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.

The sea conditions turned violent at Old Digha beach with the landfall of Cyclone Dana. Several people have been evacuated in the state to safer places as a pre-emptive measure.

Several trees have been uprooted in Odisha's Dhamara, and Chandmali villages of Bhadrak district as coastal areas of Odisha witness strong winds and heavy rainfall.

The storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph over the past six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, a senior IMD official said.

In abid to review the cyclone situation in the state, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi held a meeting on Friday with the minister of revenue and disaster management, Suresh Pujari and Odisha's chief secretary, Manoj Ahuja at Rajiv Bhavan, in Bhubaneswar.

Heavy rains packed with gusty winds lashed parts of southern West Bengal as the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm “Dana” continued to tear through the Odisha coast since midnight.

In various parts of Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas, waterlogging has been reported, compounding the misery of the affected residents. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed.

(Via PTI)

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar, and Kolkata airports finally resumed on Friday morning after hours of suspension in view of the landfall of Cyclone Dana.

As several trees were uprooted by the gutsy winds during Cyclone Dana's landfall in Odisha, the NDRF and ODRAF teams on Friday initiated restoration work by removing the trees from the roads.

The NDRF and ODRAF teams started work despite gusty winds and heavy rainfall in Dhamra area of Bhadrak district.

Taking stock of the situation in the state, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said, "Cyclone Dana made landfall on the intervening night of October 24 and 25 between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra coasts. This process continues till 7:00 am, today... Due to vigilant administration and preparedness, there has been no causality. The government's target of 'zero causality' is achieved. Almost 6 lakh people have been shifted to safer places. 6,000 pregnant women are shifted to Helath Centres."

According to IMD's hourly bulletin no. 16 on severe cyclonic storm “dana”, "The severe cyclonic storm moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and weakened into a cyclonic storm over north coastal odisha and lay centred near latitude 21.20° n and longitude 86.70°e at 0830 hrs IST of today, the 25th october, about 30 km northeast of bhadrak and 50 km north-northwest of dhamara. The maximum sustained wind speed around the centre of the cyclone is about 80-90kmph gusting to 100kmph."

The Met department further added, "The landfall process has been completed. It is likely to move northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a deep depression during the next 06 hours. The system is under continuous surveillance of the doppler weather radar at Paradip."

As Cyclone Dana makes its landfall in Odisha, State Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has stated that no one has died due to the cyclone. Adding to this, the CM stated that the 'zero casualty' mission has been successful.

According to Bhubaneswar IMD Director Manorama Mohanty, "Severe Cyclonic Storm Dana has moved North-Northwestward with a speed of 10 km per hour, and has now weakened into a cyclonic storm... Over the last 24 hours, heavy rainfall has been recorded in many areas, with the highest being 156 mm in Raj Kendrapara area."

Flight operations resumed at Kolkata airport in West Bengal from 8 am on Friday after cyclone Dana made landfall on the coast of neighbouring Odisha, officials said.

Train services on the south section of the Sealdah Division under the Eastern Railway also resumed at 10 am after scheduled cancellations due to the cyclone.

The authorities of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here suspended flight operations since Thursday evening as a precautionary measure against cyclone Dana. According to an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson here, the first flight departed from Kolkata at 8.40 am.

(Via PTI)

Owing to incessant rainfall triggered by the landfall of Cyclone Dana, waterlogging was reported in several parts of Kolkata on Friday.

Under the influence of Cyclone Dana, heavy rainfall lashed parts of Jharkhand on Friday.

The Kolhan region of Jharkhand comprising West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan and East Singhbhum districts witnessed spells of light to moderate rainfall since Thursday night, while other parts of the state are experiencing cloudy weather coupled with intermittent drizzle.

"The impact of the system seems to have weakened over Jharkhand. One or two districts of Kolhan region may experience heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday, while some districts of central Jharkhand including Ranchi might witness moderate rainfall," Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand told PTI.

(Via PTI)

NDRF teams have been deployed to clear the Dhamara-Bandsa road blocked by uprooted trees.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday claimed that the state has achieved its "Zero Casualty Mission" as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life or injury in the severe cyclonic storm Dana which made landfall in the coast on Thursday night.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses the press on Friday afternoon as Cyclone Dana brought in heavy rain across several districts in the state.

Banerjee thanked the government officials and journalists who have stayed up all night monitoring the situation and disseminating correct information.