Cyclone Dana landfall likely tonight; Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar airports to suspend ops

Authorities in Odisha are racing against time to evacuate about 10 lakh people from several coastal districts before cyclone Dana's expected landfall in the state tonight. Nearly half of the state's population is at risk from Cyclone Dana, which has strengthened into a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds expected to reach up to 120 kmph, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

As of 5.30 am today, the IMD reported that the cyclone was located 350 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal) and 290 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha). It is anticipated that the landfall would occur in Odisha, between Dhamra port and Bhitarkanika National Park.

Heavy to extremely heavy rain is expected in West Bengal on Thursday and Friday, particularly in the districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah, and Hooghly, according to the Met Department.

Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airport to halt operations

The Bhubaneswar airport will halt flight operations from 5 p.m. today until 9 a.m. on Friday, while the Kolkata airport will halt operations from 6 p.m. on Thursday until 9 a.m. tomorrow. Following the storm, about 200 trains that were scheduled to pass through the two neighboring states have been canceled.

Due to the cyclone, the East Coast Railway has canceled 198 trains from Wednesday through Friday. Additionally, the Eastern Railway declared that from 8 p.m. on Thursday to 10 a.m. on Friday, it will not run 190 local trains in Bengal's Sealdah division. More than 150 trains that are traveling through or coming from Odisha have been canceled by the South Eastern Railway.

In West Bengal and Odisha, National Disaster Response Force teams have been positioned on standby. Other rescuers from the Army, Navy, and Indian Coast Guard have also been sent in.