Cyclone Dana Highlights: 1 dead in West Bengal; cyclone Dana weakens into deep depression

All schools in Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj will remain shut on Saturday due to heavy rain caused by the cyclone, Odisha Daily Sambad reported.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed cyclone damage and the current situation during a meeting at the Special Relief Commissioner's office.

He said in a post on X, "Relief and rescue operations are being carried out on a wartime basis. Officials have been directed to expedite it further. The government has successfully dealt with the storm by focusing on the main goal of 'Zero Casualty'."

‘Severe’ Cyclonic storm Dana, which made landfall between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra in Odisha, brought rain and strong winds to many parts of the neighbouring West Bengal, particularly East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas.

Addressing reporters Friday, Banerjee said one person had died of electrocution in Patharpratima, South 24 Parganas district.

According to the CM, state authorities had evacuated 2.16 lakh people. She also ordered a survey to assess crop loss to farmers and gave district authorities 48 hours to send in their reports. Read More

All schools in Bhadrak and Jajpur districts of Odisha will remain closed tomorrow (October 26) in view of heavy rain triggered by cyclonic storm ‘Dana’.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday praised health worker Sibani Mandal for her "selfless service during severe cyclone Dana" that made landfall in the state earlier during the day.

Majhi praised ASHA worker Mandal for carrying multiple people on her back to a cyclone shelter amid heavy rains, including a paralytic woman whom she transported for 1.5 km from her village in Rajnagar.

Mandal, who works at the Rajnagar Group Health Centre, took it upon herself to ensure the safety of Khasmunda residents before the cyclone hit.

Majhi conveyed his gratitude to her over the phone, saying, "This is how you help everyone in times of danger. May Lord Sri Jagannath bless you always."

(With inputs from PTI)

The cyclone has weakened to a deep depression after making landfall on the Odisha coast as a severe storm in the early hours today. The Indian Meteorological Department said it is expected to move westward across northern Odisha and gradually weaken further within the next 12 hours.

Amid Cyclone Dana’s impending landfall, Digha State General Hospital welcomed two new lives. Two pregnant women, safely evacuated from their homes, gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl each.

One of the new fathers, Shibu Das, expressed his relief and gratitude. “My wife, Sushmita, was due on October 22. As the cyclone approached, our anxiety grew. Thankfully, the state administration was prepared. An ASHA worker evacuated her in an ambulance, and she was brought here just in time,” he told The Indian Express.

Sushmita delivered a healthy baby girl. Overjoyed, Shibu decided to name her “Brishti,” meaning “rain.” He explained, “It was raining heavily the night she was born. I wanted to remember that special moment forever.” Das is a resident of Padima 2, a flood and cyclone-prone area of Purba Medinipur district. She was brought to the hospital on October 24, the day of her child’s birth. Read More

Rain lashed parts of Jharkhand on Friday under the influence of cyclonic storm Dana, a Met Department official said.

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 rains.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said he was continuously monitoring the cyclonic system for the last 24 hours.

"I am taking hourly information on this issue. Several steps have also been taken as precautionary measures mainly in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, and Saraikela-Kharsawan districts," the CM posted on X.

(With inputs from PTI)

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, while reviewing the state situation after cyclone Dana’s landfall, said that electricity services are expected to be fully restored in the affected areas by 6 pm.

He said that over 570 families are still in waterlogged conditions due to the cyclone.

He will hold another review meeting this evening to discuss the damage caused by the severe cyclonic storm, Odisha daily Sambad reported.

As Cyclone Dana made landfall, the Indian Coast Guard mobilized 11 ships, 05 aircraft, and 14 Disaster Relief Teams to tackle the challenges ahead. 

The State Control Room has been made operational 24/7 (0674-2390466), with staff to monitor affected districts, the Health & Family Welfare Department said in a post on X.

Three senior officials have been deputed to Kendrapara, Balasore, and Bhadrak to monitor preparedness and help local health administrations.

Additionally, 18 extra doctors, along with 20 pharmacy officers and 30 multi-purpose health workers, have been deployed to the affected areas.

In a post on X, the H & FW department said, "4797 pregnant women having an estimated date of delivery within 2 weeks have been shifted to Maa Gruha hospitals."

Cyclone Dana spared Odisha and West Bengal of any severe damage to infrastructure, while flight and rail operations resumed on Friday after the cyclonic storm completed landfall, triggering heavy rains and uprooting of trees and electric poles.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said one person died due to the cyclone, while Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said that the state achieved its ‘zero casualty mission.’

CM Majhi said that all the roads blocked by uprooted trees would be cleared during the day as the rescue team personnel had already started working as soon as the intensity of the wind reduced on Thursday night. "By 6 pm on Friday, electricity will be restored in all places including the worst-hit Kendrapara, Balasore, and Bhadrak district," he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, CM Mamata Banerjee, who held a review meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna after spending the night there to monitor the situation, directed the officials to ensure that relief materials reach all those affected by the cyclone.

(With inputs from PTI)

Helpline numbers for health-related emergencies for people living in affected areas of Odisha

Disaster response teams in Odisha's Mayurbhanj conducted extensive restoration operations throughout affected areas, clearing blocked roads, repairing power infrastructure, and rebuilding essential services.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.

Banerjee, who held a review meeting at the state secretariat after spending the night there to monitor the situation, directed the officials to ensure that relief materials reach all those affected by the cyclone.

"Only one person died in this natural disaster. The man died at his residence while conducting some cable-related work. It is quite unfortunate. The postmortem examination will give us a clear picture. If required we (state government) will help the family," Banerjee said.

(With inputs from PTI)

In the aftermath of the landfall of cyclone Dana, parts of Odisha recorded heavy rainfall. According to the regional meteorological centre the highest rainfall of 158.6 mm was recorded at Chandbali in Bhadrak district during the last 24 hours (8.30 am on Thursday to 8.30 am on Friday) while Rajkanika area of Kendrapara district received 156 mm rainfall.

Basudevpur in Bhadrak district, Oupada in Balasore district and Marsaghai and Rajnagar in Kendrapara district received rainfall of more than 100 mm during the period, according to the weather office.

Kendrapara district received 85.9 mm rainfall during the last 24 hours while Bhadrak district recorded a rainfall of 67.1 mm. Balasore, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj districts recorded rainfall of 52.6 mm, 38.9 mm and 35 mm during the period, respectively.

The other districts, which received heavy rainfall are—Cuttack (26.5 mm), Khurda (23.7), Nayagarh (23.1), Angul (20.7), Dhenkanal (17), Puri (16.2) and Jagatsinghpur (16).

With PTI inputs

The IMD has issued an alert for heavy to very heavy rain in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Jhargram till Friday, while heavy rain may continue till Saturday in Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, and South 24 Parganas. The IMD said that in West Bengal, East Midnapore was likely to be most affected by the cyclone. Tourists were asked to evacuate the hotels in beach destinations Digha and Mandarmani, while meteorologists said that the height of the waves would be much higher than “normal”.

With packing wind speeds ranging between 85-90 km/hr gusting to 105km/hr likely to prevail in association with the storm, the IMD has issued a ‘red’ alert on Friday for Odisha and West Bengal where extremely heavy rainfall (over 200mm in 24-hours) is likely.

Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Puri, North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and Bankura districts will be affected. An ‘orange’ alert exists for southern Jharkhand districts, Kerala and Mahe on Friday whereas a ‘yellow’ alert has been issued for Bihar, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and south interior Karnataka on the day.

Gale wind with speeds ranging between 100-110km/hour gusting to 120km/hr shall prevail along the coasts of north Odisha and east Medinipur, with the IMD warning fishermen against venturing into the sea.

An elderly woman died at a cyclone shelter in Odisha's Kendrapara district, officials told PTI. The 82-year-old woman identified as Hemalata Nayak of Bankual village died on Thursday night of suspected cardiac arrest at a cyclone shelter set up at Kalyan Mandap Dangamal under Dangamal gram panchayat under Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district, they said.

"The woman died of cardiac arrest and not related to cyclone related incident," Block Development Officer (BDO) of Rajnagar block, Nishant Mishra said.

With PTI inputs

The landfall process of 'severe' cyclone Dana took nearly 10 hours and is being seen as one of the slow moving storms after it moved to land. With this, its intensity, too, has reduced to the cyclone category, the IMD said.

As per the latest location updates, the storm was located 30 km northeast of Bhadrak and 50 km north-northwest of Dhamra. Gale wind with speeds ranging between 100-110km/hour gusting to 120km/hr shall prevail along the coasts of north Odisha and east Medinipur, with the IMD warning fishermen against venturing into the sea.

The cyclonic storm Dana moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and lay centered near latitude 21.25 degree north and longitude 86.70 degree East at 9:30 hours on Friday, over north coastal Odisha, about 30 km northeast of Bhadrak and 50 km north-northwest of Dhamara. It is likely to move northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a deep depression during the next six hours, IMD said in a post on X.

“All night” on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stayed at Nabanna, the headquarters of state administration, to monitor Cyclone Dana and issue necessary instructions to officials. 

The cyclone made landfall at 3.30 am on Friday, following which it has been heavily raining in the state since morning, while winds are blowing in coastal areas. According to the state administration, while the cyclone largely affected Odisha, West Bengal’s coastal areas may mostly be flooded rather than “affected by the storm”.

The Chief Minister also instructed District Magistrates to make a list estimating of total damage caused by the cyclone. She will reportedly hold a video conference with district magistrates of eight affected districts on Friday at 1 pm. 

There were reports of damage to thatched houses and disruption of road transportation in some parts of Odisha’s northern districts due to trees being uprooted. Electricity lines have also been damaged in some areas. Crops were also damaged by the cyclone, and the CM said collectors of affected districts have been asked to submit damage assessment reports. The government is likely to announce assistance for people whose crops have been affected and houses damaged.

Train services on the south section of the Sealdah Division under the Eastern Railway resumed at 10 am after scheduled cancellations due to the cyclone, officials said. The first train to resume service was a Sonarpur local and other services will be restored gradually during the day, a railway official said.

More than 170 express and passenger trains scheduled between October 23 and 27, along the routes in West Bengal,

Odisha and Jharkhand were cancelled by the South Eastern Railway. The Eastern Railway cancelled 68 suburban trains in the Howrah division for Friday morning, while all EMU local trains from Sealdah station were suspended from Thursday evening till October 25 morning.

With PTI inputs

With PTI inputs

After the landfall process of severe cyclonic storm Dana has been completed, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said no deaths were reported in the state and their zero-casualty mission was successful.

NDRF teams have been braving heavy rains and gusty winds as removal of fallen trees and road clearing is underway in Odisha. NDRF inspector, Vikram told news agency ANI, "We are deployed in Paradip, especially for port entry to Nehru Bangla area... We have been clearing roads since morning, 4:00 am... Cyclone has been moderate here..."

As weather conditions remained normal for flight operations, Biju Patnaik International Airport restarted its functioning at 8 am today morning. "Normal operations were to start at 9 am but we have preponed it to 8 am. We have followed all post-cyclone procedures. Our teams have inspected operational areas, terminal building and city side and we have resumed operations," Bhubaneswar Airport Director, Prasanna Pradhan told news agency PTI.

As several people stay at shelter camps in Odisha, each one shares different pangs. While Mamata Dalai, about whom we mentioned earlier (scroll down to read what she said), has no recollection of a cyclone, 60-year-old Annapurna Dalai remembers the 1999 super cyclone well. She recalled that food packets and other essentials were airdropped from military helicopters at the time .

“We earn our livelihood from the sea and consider it sacred. If we have to die because of the sea, we will have no regrets. We have lived our life,” Annapurna told The Indian Express.

Among the high-profile visitors at the Chandinipal shelter was state minister Suryavanshi Suraj, who represents the nearby Dhamnagar Assembly constituency. When he arrived, a group of people at the shelter started airing their grievances, mainly about not getting a pucca house. The minister promised them that the issue would be resolved.

After several tree felling incidents were reported in Odisha in the aftermath of cyclone Dana making landfall, the NDRF and ODRAF teams have started restoration work. The rescue teams have been braving gusty winds and heavy rain in Dhamra area of Bhadrak district.

"There is no report of any casualty. There has been massive damage to electrical installations due to tree falling. Roads are being cleared," Odisha Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj was quoted as saying by PTI.

Ajay Mohanty, Tehsildar of Rajnagar in Kendrapada district said that there has been no major damage in the Bhitarkanika area except uprooting of some trees and damage to some thatched houses.

With PTI inputs

A large number of people stay at shelter camps in Odisha. While they remain physically safe, many of them remain anxious over the cyclone Dana and its aftermath. After watching TV news reports on cyclone Dana, Mamata Dalai, 74, got nervous.

Speaking to The Indian Express reporter Sujit Bisoyi, she said she has no recollection of experiencing the landfall of a cyclone.

“The super cyclone of 1999 was terrible, but I hardly remember it as I was very young. Though there have been many cyclones that hit Odisha in the past 10 years, none of them made any severe impact in our locality.”

The woman had to leave her kutcha house. “We had no choice but to come here. My family didn’t get a house under the government’s scheme as we don’t have land pattas in our name,” said Mamata, whose husband works as a labourer in the fishing harbour.

With over 2.4 lakh people evacuated in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged people to take precautionary measures and cooperate with the administration and police. Banerjee also urged the people not to spread rumours and create panic in this connection.

Banerjee said that a 24X7 helpline (2214 3526) and some associated phone numbers have been made functional for monitoring and sharing information. The Bengal CM said that the educational institutions were closed down to ensure the safety of students.

"I seek your cooperation. Be alert. If the police or the administration ask you to evacuate a place, please pay heed to their advice. Do not venture into the waters. Fishing is prohibited now," she said.

She also said that the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has released around 24,000 cusec of water. "We faced flood a few days back. The DVC has released 24,000 cusecs of water as if Bengal has become a place to release water. If it rains in Jharkhand, they will again release water," she said, further advising the corporation to carry out dredging which would enable them to "store four lakh cusecs of water".

Banerjee also referred to the continuous dredging of the drainage system in Kolkata which helped drain out rainwater.

With PTI inputs

Since Thursday night, torrential rains have been lashing parts of West Bengal, including Kolkata. "Rainfall is ongoing in the impacted regions, and the warning will remain in place until Friday," a Met official stated.

Power Minister Aroop Biswas was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that while there has been significant rainfall and strong winds, a detailed damage assessment will be available by the evening, with an initial report expected by 11 am. The authorities remain on high alert to tackle adverse situations and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has mobilised teams to clear fallen trees from city streets.

In West Bengal, heavy rains continued to pound southern West Bengal while the landfall process of cyclone Dana goes on. Waterlogging has been reported in several parts of Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas. The full extent of damage is still being assessed.

With PTI inputs

Flight operations resumed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata at 8 am on Friday, after it was suspended in view of Cyclone Dana. Operations at Bhubaneswar Airport resumed at 8 am today.

When the landfall process of cyclone Dana began in Odisha, 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. Several reports of tree felling were reported at the revenue department.

Was there any casualty? No, There was no report of any major damage or casualty, a revenue department official told news agency PTI.

The India Meteorological Department, in forecast on Thursday evening said that low to moderate flash floods are likely in watershed areas in the state in the next 24 hours.

The districts, which are likely to witness flash floods, include Angul, Balasore, Boudh, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri. The IMD also forecast inundation in low-lying areas in Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak districts due to a tidal surge of 1 metre to 2 metres during the landfall of the severe cyclone Dana.

Odisha is likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall due to the cyclone, the weather agency said.

With PTI inputs

Early in the morning on Friday, strong winds have been gusting through parts of Odisha as the landfall process of cyclone Dana is underway. With several trees uprooted, many roads in Kendrapara district have been blocked. A video shared by news agency PTI shows fallen trees on road.

The weather department has predicted flash floods in 16 districts in Odisha due to cyclone-induced heavy rainfall in the state. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Maji, who visited control room at the Special Relief Commissioner's office yesterday said his government was well-prepared to tackle any situation and took adequate measures to mitigate potential impacts.

“We are well-prepared to face the situation. The water level in Hirakud reservoir and other places are being constantly monitored and managed,” Maji said.

With PTI inputs

Lakhs of people are staying at shelter camps in West Bengal amid the relentless roar of the sea and crashing waves. While they remain safe, the lingering thought in their mind is - “Will our homes be still standing when we return?”

It's not the first time some of them have been evacuated to relief centres. “We lost everything in the last cyclone… It took us a year to rebuild our mud house… Every time we come here, we wonder whether our home will be there when we return,” said 80-year-old Gouri Jana, who was at the shelter home for the third time in nearly as many years. Click here to read more on what people at shelter camps have to say.

The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm Dana began on Odisha coast on Thursday night and would continue for the next one to two hours. It is likely to move west-northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by today forenoon, the India Meteorological Department said in a post on X.

Hi! The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm began yesterday night and would be completed in the next one to two hours. Heavy rains have been pounding Odisha and West Bengal, several trees have been uprooted. Amid the roaring seas and lashing rain, lakhs of people remain in relief centers as NDRF, state governments remain braced to tackle adverse situations. Stay tuned here for latest updates on cyclone Dana.