Cyclone Dana Strikes Coastal Odisha: IMD Forecasts Heavy Rainfall And Strong Winds

Coastal Odisha experienced strong winds and intense rainfall as Cyclone Dana made landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra shortly after midnight on Thursday, according to theIndia Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone reached land at around 12:10 am, positioned between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district. Manorama Mohanty, the regional director of IMD Bhubaneswar, noted that the landfall process would persist through Friday morning before Cyclone Dana would begin to weaken and shift course toward Dhenkanal and Angul districts.

As the cyclone’s center crossed the coastline, wind speeds were projected to rise to 120 kmph, with the landfall process expected to span four to five hours. The system is being closely tracked by Paradip’s Doppler radar.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reached out to assess the state’s preparedness for the cyclone's impact. Majhi stated that about 5.84 lakh residents were evacuated from high-risk, low-lying coastal regions as a safety measure.

Although initially planning to relocate one million people, state officials reduced the target after assessing Cyclone Dana’s reduced intensity compared to earlier predictions.

The IMD has forecasted widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall (7-20 cm) and isolated areas of extremely heavy rain (over 20 cm) across Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj districts.

From Friday morning through Saturday, similar conditions are expected in isolated areas across Jajpur, Bhadrak, Puri, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, and Angul, as reported by an IMD official.