Heavy rains lash parts of south Bengal as severe cyclone 'Dana' batters Odisha coast

Kolkata: Heavy rains packed with gusty winds lashed parts of southern West Bengal as the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm “Dana” continued to tear through the Odisha coast since midnight.

According to the latest bulletin from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the severe cyclonic storm lay centred over north coastal Odisha, near north-northwest of Dhamara and north-northwest of Habalikhati nature camp (Bhitarkanika).

“The landfall process continues and the rear sector of the cyclone is entering into land. The landfall process would continue for the next 1-2 hours. It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by forenoon of today,” a bulletin of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) at 6:15 am stated.

In various parts of Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas, waterlogging has been reported, compounding the misery of the affected residents. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, but initial reports suggested the storm brought heavy rains, which continued into Friday morning, causing inundation in low-lying areas.

The state administration evacuated over 2.5 lakh people till Thursday evening in anticipation of the severe cyclonic storm 'Dana.' Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state had identified more than 3.5 lakh people for evacuation from low-lying areas. Banerjee, along with senior officials, camped at the state secretariat overnight to monitor the situation.

Thirteen battalions from the state's disaster management force and 14 battalions from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the coastal regions, officials said.

Operations at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport were suspended from 6 pm on Thursday until 9 am on Friday due to expected high winds and heavy rain.

South Eastern Railway (SER), which oversees routes in West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand, has cancelled more than 170 express and passenger trains scheduled between October 23 and 27.

Additionally, Eastern Railway cancelled 68 suburban trains in the Howrah division for Friday morning, while all EMU local trains from Sealdah station were suspended from Thursday evening till Friday morning.

Kolkata Port authorities also halted ship movements until Friday evening as a precautionary measure.

Rainfall intensified in the early morning hours across the affected districts, including Kolkata, which experienced moderate-to-heavy rainfall, along with hailstorms, since Thursday night.

"Rainfall is ongoing in the impacted regions, and the warning will remain in place until Friday," the Met official stated.

Power Minister Aroop Biswas said that while there has been significant rainfall and strong winds, a detailed damage assessment will be available by the evening, with an initial report expected by 11 am.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has mobilised teams to clear uprooted trees from city streets as part of their disaster response efforts.

The authorities remain on high alert as the impact of the cyclone continues to unfold across the region.