Cyclone Dana: Live Tracker, Landfall Date, Odisha Government Advisory & All You Need To Know

Cyclone Dana: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the formation of a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay of Bengal, crossing North Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar island on Thursday, October 24

In its latest press release, IMD stated that yesterday’s well-marked low-pressure area over the East-central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards and concentrated into a depression on October 22. The depression is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a cyclonic storm by October 23 over the east-central Bay of Bengal. The depression over the east-central Bay of Bengal continued moving west-northwestwards with a speed of 6 kmph during the past 3 hours.

Follow our Cyclone Dana Live Updates blog for all the latest as Odisha prepares for the cyclonic storm.

Cyclone Dana is set to make landfall along the Odisha-West Bengal coast between Puri and Sagar Island on the night of October 24 and early morning of October 25. 

Cyclone Dana, is a name proposed by Qatar, in line with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) guidelines on naming cyclones. It means "generosity" in Arabic.

The name is part of the new list of tropical cyclone names adopted by WMO/ESCAP Panel member countries in April 2020 for the naming of tropical cyclones over the North Indian Ocean including the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.

It will be the first cyclone to hit the Indian coast after the withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon and the simultaneous arrival of the Northeast Monsoon.

The above map (from windy.com) shows the live location of Cyclone Dana and the tracking for the next 3-4 days hours. Check Cyclone Dana's route and map as the depression realises into a cyclonic storm and later a severe cyclonic storm on Thursday.

Government authorities in Odisha and West Bengal are gearing up to deal with the harsh weather conditions as Cyclone Dana approaches the Odisha and West Bengal coasts. The Met Department has issued a red alert for many places in Odisha and West Bengal on possibility of extremely heavy rainfall from October 23 to 25.

• Light to moderate rainfall is expected at most places with heavy rainfall (up to 7-11 cm) at isolated places is very likely over Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur, Puri and Khorda, districts of Odisha on October 23.

• Heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (≥ 21 cm) at isolated places is very likely over Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsingpur, Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khorda and Puri districts of Odisha on October 24 and 25.

• Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy rainfall at isolated places is very likely on October 23 and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places is very likely over South & North 24 Parganas, East & West Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and Bankura districts of Gangetic West Bengal on October 24 and 25.

• Light to moderate rainfall at most places is likely over south Jharkhand with heavy rainfall at isolated places on October 24 and heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places on October 25.

In view of the imminent arrival of Cyclone Dana, all schools in the following districts of Odisha will be closed for three days from October 23 to 25.

List of districts: Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balswar, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Anugol, Khurda, Nayagarh and Cuttack.

The information was posted by the Information & Public Relations Dept. Govt. of Odisha on microblogging platform X (Twitter).

At Chhatra Bazaar in Cuttack, the price of potatoes has increased from Rs 30 to Rs 50 per kg on Tuesday. The price of onion has also increased to Rs 60 per kg from Rs 40 in the market, which is one of the largest vegetable markets in Odisha.

Tomato is being sold for Rs 80 to 100 in the local markets in Bhubaneswar, traders said. The price of other vegetables like bins, brinjal, ladyfinger, and cauliflower has also increased by Rs 10 to 20 per kg. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had instructed concerned officials to check black marketing of the essential goods.

The Odisha government on Monday issued an advisory asking tourists to vacate the pilgrim town of Puri soon.

State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari issued the advisory after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday. 'The tourists who have come to Puri should leave the seaside pilgrim town soon as the district is likely to be affected by the severe cyclonic storm,' Pujari told reporters.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday said it was on high alert and had mobilised its vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency owing to the cyclonic storm Dana. The ICG deployed helicopters and remote operating stations at Haldia in West Bengal and Paradip in Odisha to broadcast regular weather warnings and safety advisories to fishermen and mariners.

The Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha has announced the deployment of 20 teams from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) along with an additional 10 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for search and rescue operations.

Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari announced that the government is ready to tackle the cyclonic storm and has already made arrangements for around 250 relief centres. He also informed that several grassroots-level meetings have been held to tackle the possible impact of Cyclone Dana.

The Odisha government has cancelled the leaves of all staff from October 23 to 25 in view of the cyclone forecast. In a letter to all the departments, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) DK Singh asked them to remain prepared to tackle the challenges of the impending calamity

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed officials to ensure that all people are evacuated from the areas likely to be affected by Cyclone Dana. He also directed them to stock food, water and other necessities in the cyclone shelters in adequate quantities. Majhi said that the state government was fully prepared for the cyclonic storm, and it had set a 'zero casualty' target in the cyclone.

The Met department has mentioned some possible impact of Cyclone Dana especially over districts of Odisha (Baleswar, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khorda, Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal) and West Bengal (South & North 24 Parganas, East & West Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata, & Bankura)

• Roads and railway services may be affected in coastal areas due to the cyclone.

• Localized Flooding of roads, water logging in low lying areas and closure of underpasses mainly in urban areas of the above region.

• Disruption of traffic in major cities and roadways due to water logging in roads and poor visibility due to heavy rain leading to increased travel time and incidents.

• Damage to power and communication lines.

• Localized Landslides/Mudslides/landslips/mud slips/land sinks/mud sinks.

• Major damage to thatched houses/ huts.

• Breaking of tree branches and uprooting of trees.

• Major damage to Kutcha and some damage to Pucca roads. Flooding of escape routes.

• Damage to horticulture and standing crops due to inundation and wind.

The SCS Dana will carry a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting up to 120 kmph. IMD has informed that the sea conditions along the Bay of Bengal coasts will become rough on October 22 and will intensify to very highly rough from October 23rd morning until October 25th afternoon and improving gradually thereafter.

Roads and railway services may be affected in coastal areas due to the cyclone.

Fishermen have also been advised not to venture into the east-central Bay of Bengal from October 22 to 24 and adjoining areas of the west-central Bay of Bengal from October 23 to 24.

Fishermen along the north Bay of Bengal and along & off the coasts of Odisha, Bay of Bengal and Bangaldesh coasts from October 23 to 25.

The depression laying over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a deep depression by the evening of October 22 and in the next 24 hours it will intensify into a cyclonic storm with wind speeds up to 100 kmph. The Cyclonic storm Dana will then intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on October 24.

Before Dana, Cyclonic Storm Asna had hit Indian coasts that affected Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

- with inputs from PTI