Cyclone Dana updates: Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said over 30% of the targeted 10 lakh people have been evacuated to safe places by Wednesday evening.
Cyclone Dana updates tracker: As Cyclone Dana approaches the Odisha coast, expected to make landfall by October 25, the state is preparing to evacuate around 10 lakh people from several coastal districts. Meanwhile, more than 1.14 lakh people in West Bengal have already been moved to shelters as a precautionary measure.
Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who reviewed the state government’s preparedness, said only 30 per cent of the people, or around 3-4 lakh people living in the identified ‘danger zone’, have been evacuated by Wednesday evening.
Cyclone Dana, with wind speeds expected to reach up to 120 kmph (75 mph), is likely to hit between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha by Friday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Cyclonic storm ‘Dana’, formed over east-central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the IMD said.
The Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled a large number of trains on October 24 and 25, in view of the cyclone.