Eastern India’s big states of West Bengal and Odisha are being threatened by Cyclone Dana, which is expected to make landfall between Puri and Sagar Island between Thursday night and Friday morning with wind speeds up to 120 km. per hour, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said today.
India’s Cabinet Secretary, T V Somanathan, chaired an emergency meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee today to review preparedness for the impending cyclone.
A low-pressure area over east central Bay of Bengal is likely to advance north-westwards and intensify into a depression by 22nd October and develop into a cyclonic storm – Cyclone Dana – by the next day, the IMD’s Director General briefed the meeting.
‘Thereafter, it will reach the Odisha-West Bengal coasts by 24th October morning,’ the IMD said. It will make landfall between Puri and Sagar Island on the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal during the night of 24th October and early morning of 25th October as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds u
p to 120 km. per hour.
‘Fishermen have been asked not to venture out into the sea and those at sea have been called to safe berth,’ India’s Cabinet Secretariat warned.
‘The National Disaster Response Force has kept 14 teams in West Bengal and 11 teams in Odisha on stand-by for deployment. Rescue and relief teams of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard along with ships and aircrafts have been kept in readiness,’ the Secretariat said.
Source: Emirates News Agency