Rain lashes parts of Bengal and Odisha as states brace for Cyclone Dana's landfall

Several districts of West Bengal received moderate to heavy rain on Thursday morning, as severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' inched closer to the state’s coast and that of neighbouring Odisha, the IMD said. The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.

The weather system lay 280 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 370 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 2.30 am, the IMD said in a bulletin. The cyclonic storm is set to bring heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts, including Kolkata. Advising fishermen not to venture into the sea, the Met Department said gale wind with speeds reaching 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph is prevailing over northwest Bay of Bengal.

It warned that the wind speed over the area is likely to increase gradually to 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph till Friday morning, and decrease thereafter. The coastal districts of Bengal are experiencing moderate to heavy rain and gusty winds since the early hours of Thursday, while Kolkata woke up to an overcast sky and intermittent showers. The bulletin warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy downpour in isolated places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts on Thursday and Friday.

Public transportation to and from Kolkata's suburbs may get affected from the evening, as Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled a large number of trains on Thursday and Friday, in view of the cyclone. More than 170 express and passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway (SER) jurisdiction have been cancelled, an official said. The trains cancelled were scheduled to depart from their originating stations between October 23 and October 27, he said. The Kolkata-headquartered SER zone is spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Besides, the Eastern Railway (ER) will not operate any EMU local train from Sealdah station on its south and Hasnabad sections from 8 pm on Thursday till 10 am on Friday, the official said. The ER also cancelled 68 suburban trains on the Howrah division on Friday morning, he said. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is on high alert and has mobilised vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency over the Bay of Bengal. Meanwhile, the NDRF said it has deployed several teams across south Bengal to tackle any emergency situation. Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across river Hooghly in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled in view of the impending inclement weather, officials said. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has also opened a control room at its headquarters here, and cancelled the leaves of all essential staff.

Cyclonic storm 'Dana', formed over east-central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the IMD said. Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled a large number of trains on October 24 and 25, in view of the cyclone. The storm is likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal and make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The cyclone lay 420 km southeast of Paradip, 450 km south-southeast of Dhamara and 500 km south-southeast of Sagar Island at 8.30 am on Wednesday, it said. The Met warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy downpours in isolated places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts on October 24 and 25. Advising fishermen not to venture into the sea from October 23 to 25, the Met warned that wind speed is likely to reach 60 kmph along and off Odisha-West Bengal coasts from October 23 and gradually increase to 120 kmph, from October 24 night till October 25 morning.

More than 170 express and passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway (SER) jurisdiction have been cancelled in view of the severe cyclonic storm, an official said. The trains cancelled were scheduled to depart their originating stations between October 23 and 27, the SER official said, adding that more trains running through the SER zone may be cancelled if the situation demands. The Kolkata-headquartered SER zone is spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. The Eastern Railway (ER) will not operate any EMU local train from Sealdah station in its south and Hasnabad sections from 8 pm on October 24 till 10 am on October 25 in view of the cyclonic storm 'Dana' over the Bay of Bengal, an official said.

The official said that the last train from Hasnabad and Namkhana stations, which are close to the coastal areas in North and South 24 Parganas districts, will depart towards Sealdah by 7 pm on October 24. The ER also cancelled 68 suburban trains in its Howrah division on October 25, he said. Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across River Hooghly in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled in view of the impending inclement weather, officials said.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has opened a control room at its headquarters here and cancelled the leaves of all essential staff to tackle any emergency. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is on high alert and has mobilised its vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency over the Bay of Bengal. It said the ICG has mobilised its vessels and aircraft, positioning them strategically to respond swiftly to any emergencies.

The NDRF said it has so far deployed 13 teams across south Bengal to respond to any emergency situation. West Bengal Power Minister Aroop Biswas held a video conference with district power officials to coordinate preparedness to tackle any eventuality owing to the cyclonic storm, an official said. Biswas sought to assure the public that round-the-clock assistance and services by power department officials would be provided in the event of any power disruption. Biswas also held a meeting with officials of the power department and private utility CESC, which serves Kolkata and some adjoining areas. The power department announced helpline numbers 8900793503, 19221 (WBSEDCL) and 1912 (CESC) for the public to call in case of any emergency.

The coastal belt of Odisha experienced heavy rain and squally winds on Thursday morning with the sea condition remaining rough, as severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ approached closer to the state’s coast, the IMD said. The cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.

The weather system over the Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph during past the six hours, and lay centred about 260 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 290 km south-southeast of Dhamra (Odisha) and 350 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 5.30 am.

“It is very likely to move northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamra during midnight of 24th to morning of 25th October as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph,” it said in the latest bulletin.

The highest rainfall of 62 mm was recorded at Paradip, while Rajnagar in Kendrapara district received 24 mm rain, in the last four hours, the Met Department said. Moderate to intense rain and thunderstorms with wind speeds of 30-40 kmph are likely to lash some parts of Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Puri districts during the day, it said. Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty said: “The severe cyclonic storm is likely to re-curve slightly towards west and west-southwards after landfall, triggering rain in southern Odisha around October 26. However, the landfall and wind speed predictions remain unchanged.” Meanwhile, roads in some areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Bhitarkania and Puri were blocked, after trees were uprooted due to strong winds, officials said.

Cyclone 'Dana' to bring heavy rainfall in parts Jharkhand, NDRF teams deployed

Parts of Jharkhand could experience heavy to very heavy rainfall from Thursday night under the influence of cyclonic storm 'Dana', a Met Department official said. An ‘orange’ alert has been issued in the Kolhan region (West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan and East Singhbhum districts) for Friday, he said. This category of alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging from 115 mm to 204 mm in 24 hours, the official said.

"Apart from heavy rain, the region might also experience thunderstorms and gusty winds with speeds of up to 60 kmph," Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said. The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), the IMD said. The weather system lay 280 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 370 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 2.30 am, it said in a bulletin. Six teams of the NDRF have been deployed in Jamshedpur and Chaibasa, while two teams were kept on standby in Ranchi to deal with any emergency situation, another official said. Several parts of central Jharkhand, including Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Gumla and Ramgarh, may also experience heavy rainfall on Friday, Anand said. "Light to moderate rainfall is likely in many parts of the state on Thursday, with forecast of heavy rainfall in the Kolhan division, under the influence of the cyclonic system," he said.

The inclement weather is also likely to impact political activities underway for the upcoming assembly polls in Jharkhand, scheduled to be held in two phases – November 13 and November 20 – with the counting of votes on November 23. The nomination process for the first phase started from October 18 and will conclude on October 25, while the same for the second phase began on October 22 and will continue till October 29.