Cyclone ‘Dana’ to make landfall on Thursday

Kolkata: Cyclone ‘Dana’ may make landfall between Puri in Odisha and Sagar Island in Bengal as a severe cyclone on Thursday night, said the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore.

There will be heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts on Thursday and Friday. All the coastal districts of Bengal have been put on alert.

An upper-air circulation over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the next two days and lead to heavy rainfall as it is expected to make a landfall over the coastal states of Bengal and Odisha on Thursday, MeT office said. The wind speed may remain at 100-110 kmph with a gust of 120 kmph as cyclone ‘Dana’ will hit the coastlines of Bengal. The Alipore MeT office said that almost all the South Bengal districts will receive light to moderate rainfall on Wednesday. In some places, there may be scattered heavy rainfall. “Several places of North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday due to the impact of cyclone,” a weather official said.

The MeT office already said that there is a possibility of the wind blowing away the rooftops of mud houses and falling of trees and electric poles in the coastal regions.

“The low-pressure area is very likely to form over the east-central Bay of Bengal and the adjoining north Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. It is very likely to move west north-westwards and intensify into a depression by Tuesday morning and into a cyclonic storm by Wednesday over the east-central Bay of Bengal. Thereafter, it is very likely to move north-westwards and reach the northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha-West Bengal coasts by Thursday morning,” the IMD said.

Wind speeds off the Odisha-West Bengal coast are expected to reach 60 kmph from Wednesday, increasing to 120 kmph from Thursday night to Friday morning. The weather agency has advised fishermen of West Bengal and Odisha to remain off the sea on October 23. The Bengal government has ramped up operations for cyclone preparedness.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant already held a review meeting with senior officials and the district officials in the coastal areas have been asked to make all the necessary arrangements. Pant in a meeting had directed the district administrations to take preventive measures and to inspect the embankments in the coastal regions.

The districts have also been asked to make adequate arrangements for rescue materials if any cyclonic storms occur. The coastal districts have been asked to remain extra cautious.

State agriculture department on Monday urged the farmers to cut off paddies if around 80 per cent of the crops get matured. The farmers have also been advised to put in place adequate drainage systems to drain out accumulated water from the fields where vegetables are grown.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has positioned 14 teams in Bengal and 11 teams in Odisha on standby as a cyclonic storm approaches the Bay of Bengal, expected to make landfall between Puri and Sagar Island on Thursday, a press statement said.