Cyclone Dana made landfall on the Odisha coast early on Friday, bringing with it damaging winds and heavy rainfall. The storm hit around midnight, with its center landing between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, where wind speeds reached between 100 to 110 km/h. Meanwhile, one person reportedly died in West Bengal.
The landfall process initiated at midnight, impacting several districts including Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, and Jagatsinghpur. These areas experienced extreme wind speeds and torrential downpours. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the landfall was confirmed complete by approximately 10 am, taking over eight hours for the cyclone to move inland.
Named by Qatar, Cyclone Dana is expected to gradually weaken over the next six hours, the IMD reported. Despite the storm’s intensity, reports from the state indicated that uprooted trees and localized flooding were the primary impacts. Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced that the state has achieved its “Zero Casualty Mission,” confirming no reports of fatalities or injuries linked to the cyclone.
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In addition to Odisha, neighboring West Bengal also felt the cyclone’s effects, particularly in East Midnapore. In response to the storm, both Odisha and West Bengal authorities took extensive precautionary measures. Flight operations at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport and Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport were temporarily suspended on Thursday evening but resumed at 8 am today.
Evacuations were a key part of the emergency response, with the Odisha government relocating approximately 580,000 individuals to safety. The state deployed 385 rescue teams, which included personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF). In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reported that over 243,000 people were sheltered in temporary camps. She spent the entire Thursday night at the state secretariat, personally overseeing the situation as it developed.
As the region begins to assess the damage, the focus remains on recovery and support for those affected by the storm.
