The severe cyclonic storm “DANA” (pronounced as Dana) over central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph during the past 6 hours.
Dana is set to make landfall between Dhamra port and Bhitarkanika in Odisha between Thursday night and Friday morning as a severe cyclonic storm, the Met office said.
It is very likely to move northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) during mid-night of 24th to morning of 25th October, as a severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting 120 kmph.
Due to the anticipated impact of Cyclone Dana on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, all flight operations at Kolkata Airport will remain suspended from 6 pm on October 24, to 9 am on October 25, said airport officials on Wednesday.
“This decision is in response to the forecasted heavy winds and very heavy rainfall in the area,” said an official. Officials at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, have conducted preparedness meetings, including a key meeting held at 5 pm on Wednesday, with all stakeholders and the IMD Kolkata director.
The IMD director informed that wind speeds in Kolkata and surrounding areas could reach 60-70 kmph, gusting up to 80 kmph, with heavy to very heavy rain expected. To ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft, all stakeholders, including ATC, CNS, and other key airport officials, unanimously decided to suspend operations from 6 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25.
The Eastern Railway has also decided to suspend all local train services from Sealdah station starting 8 pm on Thursday until 10 am on Friday due to the cyclonic storm Dana, according to officials.
In response to the approaching storm, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 56 teams across five states, including Odisha and West Bengal. Odisha Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said that the government is fully prepared to deal with the cyclone. Every department, including the CM, are monitoring the situation on the ground, said Singh.