Cyclone Dana, expected to generate wind speeds of 100-110 kmph and gusts at 120 kmph, is a tropical cyclone. Considered as the most devastating storms on Earth, tropical cyclones are those which develop in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes that such cyclones develop when “thunderstorm activity starts building close to the centre of circulation, and the strongest winds and rain are no longer in a band far from the centre.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Cyclone Dana
📌Where does it get its name from?
Suggested by Qatar to the World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP), the name Dana means “generosity” in Arabic and was termed according to the standard convention of naming tropical cyclones in the region. WMO/ESCAP, a group of nations, comprises of 13 countries, including Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. While the former eight came together in 2000, the latter five were joined in 2018.
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October.
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October.
📌Where will Cyclone Dana make its landfall?
The storm, that is currently over east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port.
In a post on X, IMD said, Cyclone Dana “is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal by early morning of 24th and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika-Dhamra (Odisha) during night of 24th to morning of 25th October, 2024 as a severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting 120 kmph.”
📌What areas will be affected?
Odisha
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October. While, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts are expected to face the maximum impact of the cyclone, the Met Department forecast that several other coastal and interior districts are also expected to receive rainfall in the same period.
West Bengal
Heavy rainfall is also expected over isolated places in South and North 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and Bankura districts of Gangetic West Bengal due to the cyclonic storm.
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October.
📌Evacuation efforts and safety measures
Odisha has already evacuated over a million people from areas that will be hit by Cyclone Dana and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked district administrations to complete the evacuation process. 20 NDRF teams, 51 ODRAF teams, 200 fire services teams and 158 platoons of police have been deployed in assisting the local administrations in relief and rescue operations.
Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari stated that the state has identified over 3,000 vulnerable locations (villages) across 14 districts, primarily along the coastal belt, and started evacuation procedures. “As many as 10,60,336 people are likely to be evacuated before Cyclone Dana makes landfall”, it added.
Meanwhile, senior IAS officers are monitoring the situation, the Odisha government has assigned nine districts to nine ministers to supervise relief and rescue activities on the ground.
Additionally, as the second-largest mangrove ecosystem after the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika is expected to face the landfall, Sudarshan Gopinath Jadhav, DFO, mangrove wildlife division, Rajnagar said, “If the water level increases, there are chances that the crocodiles may move to human settlements. We have formed two teams, each comprising seven persons, and provided them equipment to rescue crocodiles. Five other teams have also been formed for rescue of snakes from human habitations.”
📌What has Odisha CM said?
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked district administrations to expedite the evacuation process and after taking stock of the situation he told mediapersons, “The state government is fully prepared to tackle whatever situation arises. I urge people not to panic. You are in safe hands. We have been closely monitoring the situation with the help of multiple systems.”
Meanwhile, Former Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik said, “Awareness and caution will protect us from potential storm ‘dana’. Storms have come many times, and we have weathered them with strength. As with all storms, let’s take every precaution to stay safe this time too. Taking care of yourself and your loved ones. Fear not, let us all be vigilant.”, he wrote in a post on X.
📌Trains and flights affected
Airport officials stated on Wednesday that.all flight operations at Kolkata Airport will remain suspended from 6 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25. All stakeholders, including ATC, CNS other key airport officials, to ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft unanimously decided to suspend operations.
Meanwhile, over 300 trains have been cancelled and the Eastern Railway has also decided to suspend all local train services from Sealdah station starting 8 pm on Thursday until 10 am on Friday.
Officials stated that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure for the safety of passengers in the Sealdah division, which serves six districts of West Bengal: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Kolkata, and Howrah.
📌What is IMD saying about its path?
Currently located over the East-Central Bay of Bengal, cyclone Dana has moved northwestward at a speed of 12 kmph over the past six hours and was centered at 2.30 pm IST on Wednesday about 540 km south-southeast of Sagar Island, West Bengal, IMD stated.
According to the weather office, it is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the Northwest Bay of Bengal by the early morning of Thursday and cross the North Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha), during the night to Friday morning.
📌What about tourists in Odisha and Bengal?
As rain lashes parts of West Bengal and Odisha, tourists and pilgrims from coastal areas have been asked to leave and all up-down trains on the Sealdah South line and Barasat-Hasnabad line have been cancelled.
Meanwhile, tourist attractions such as the Nandankanan Zoo and State Botanical Garden will also remain closed for visitors on Thursday and Friday. The authorities had also closed Similipal Tiger Reserve and Bhitarkanika National Park for tourists from October 23 to 25, given the impending storm.
📌When was the last time a cyclone hit the region?
The coastline of West Bengal was struck with the first major tropical cyclone of the year, Cyclone Remal on May 29. Though effective early warning systems and timely evacuations were in place to reduce human casualties, at least 16 people across Bangladesh and India died in the calamity. Heavy rain caused by the cyclone triggered landslides in several places in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam, and Nagaland which resulted in deaths of 30 people.
The IMD had said that with Remal weakening into a deep depression, heavy rainfall was likely over parts of West Bengal and northeastern states, which can be expected after Cyclone Dana.
Cyclone Dana is the second to develop in the North Indian Ocean in less than two months, after Cyclone Asna in the Arabian Sea in late August.
Fisherman man took safe shelter at , Mohona , Gangadharpur in Purba Medinipur ahead of Land fall of Cyclone Dana. (Express Photo by Partha Paul) 
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October.
The cyclone is expected to bring light to moderate rainfall in most places, and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on 24th and 25th October.
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