Cyclone Dana Highlights: Heavy rainfall in coastal Odisha, 1 dead in Bengal

On Friday, the Met office warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts, including Kolkata. The warning came as severe cyclone Dana weakened into a cyclonic storm after completing landfall process in neighbouring Odisha.

The weather office forecast heavy to very heavy rain in Purba Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia and Bankura districts on Friday, while extremely heavy rain is likely in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee stated that one person has died in the state in cyclone Dana. Terming the incident as "unfortunate", she said that the man died at his residence while conducting some cable-related work.

Flight and train services resumed in Bhubaneswar on Friday morning even though cyclone Dana continued to tear through the Odisha coast since midnight.

Biju Patnaik International Airport resumed its operation with the first flight landing around 9 am, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told reporters. The airport operation was suspended from 5 pm on October 24 in view of cyclone Dana which made landfall between Dhamra and Bhitarkanika around midnight.

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 drizzle.

"The impact of the system seems to have weakened over Jharkhand. One or two districts of Kolhan region may experience heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday, while some districts of central Jharkhand including Ranchi might witness moderate rainfall," Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand told PTI.

With the cyclonic storm Dana making a landfall in Odisha and impacting West Bengal and other eastern coastal regions, the Congress on Friday urged the government to extend comprehensive support to affected states and deploy all preventive and emergency measures to ensure public safety.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Cyclone Dana's landfall in Odisha and its impact on West Bengal and other eastern coastal regions necessitates utmost preparedness and swift action.

"The Union Government must extend comprehensive support to affected states, deploying all necessary preventive and emergency measures to ensure public safety," he said in a post on X.

"I appeal to all Congress workers to provide assistance to those in need," Kharge said.

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said that no casualties have been reported during Cyclone Dana. He stated that almost 6 lakh people have been shifted to safer places.

“The government's target of zero casuality is achieved. Almost 6 lakh people have been shifted to safer places. 6,000 pregnant women are shifted to health centre,” he said.

Flight operations resumed at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata at around 8:50 am today. The services were suspended since yesterday due to Cyclone Dana.

Train services on the south section of the Sealdah Division under the Eastern Railway also resumed at 10 am after scheduled cancellations due to the cyclone.

Bhadrak assistant fisheries officer, Sandeep Kumar Behera says, "The cyclone (landfall) is underway, all boats were safely anchored. Post-cyclone, when it is assessed, we will get to know the damages if any, and we will take action if needed...We will take action as per Government protocols..."

Flight operations at Kolkata airport were suspended for 15 hours from 6 pm on October 24, and will resume at 9 am on October 25. Similarly, Biju Patnaik International Airport halted services for 16 hours from 5 pm on October 24.

IMD said, "Landfall process continues and the rear sector of the cyclone is entering into land. The landfall process would continue for the next 1-2 hours. It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by forenoon of today, the 25th October."

As of 12:20 am on October 25, Cyclone Dana began its landfall in Odisha. By 9 pm, 4,17,626 people had been evacuated in Odisha, while 2,43,374 people had taken shelter in relief camps in West Bengal.