Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for extremely heavy rainfall in several districts of Odisha over the next two days as Cyclone ‘Dana’ approaches the coast.
The IMD forecasts scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20 cm) with isolated instances of extremely heavy rainfall (over 20 cm) in districts including Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj on October 24. Similar conditions are expected in Jajpur, Bhadrak, Puri, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, and Angul on October 25.
Cyclone ‘Dana,’ currently located over the northwest Bay of Bengal, has been moving north-northwestward at a speed of 10 kmph. As of now, it is approximately 150 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 180 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha), and 250 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).
The cyclone is predicted to continue moving in a north-northwest direction, making landfall between the coasts of northern Odisha and West Bengal, likely between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha), during the late night of October 24 or early morning of October 25. It is expected to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds reaching 100-110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph.
In response to the cyclone, all fishing operations have been suspended in the Central and North Bay of Bengal on October 24 and 25. Great Danger Signal No. 10 has been hoisted at the ports of Puri, Dhamara, Chandbali, and Paradip, while Local Cautionary Signal No. 3 is in place at Gopalpur port.
A storm surge of 1.0 to 2.0 meters above the astronomical tide is expected to inundate low-lying areas of Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts during the cyclone’s landfall. Similarly, a storm surge of 0.5 to 1.0 meters above the tide level is likely to impact low-lying areas of Jagatsinghpur district during this time.
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