The severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’, which made landfall last midnight between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dharma in Odisha coast, has battered many parts of Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts in coastal Odisha. The landfall process was completed this morning and the system took at least eight and half hours to enter the landmass. Power lines in several areas have been snapped, large number of big trees and some electric poles have been uprooted, while thatched and asbestos houses, huge hectares of paddy crops have been damaged in the region, though there has been no reports of any casualty so far due to ‘Dana’.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the post-cyclone situation at Bhubaneswar this morning and has asked the collectors of affected districts to assess the damages caused by ‘Dana’ and submit their reports at the earliest. Mr Majhi has said that the state has achieved its ‘Zero Casualty Mission’ as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life due to the severe cyclonic storm. He is scheduled to go for an aerial survey today to the cyclone-affected region.
Reports of a large number of trees getting uprooted and some areas getting inundated in cyclone-affected districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur have been received. Disaster response forces cautiously treaded to remove obstructions along roads due to uprooting of big trees. Electricity in the affected areas is likely to be stored by this afternoon. People who were taking shelter in multipurpose cyclone shelter centres have started returning to their homes. The services at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport and Bhubaneswar Railway Station, which were suspended as part of precautionary measures, have resumed.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the system has weakened into a cyclonic storm and further weakened into a deep depression and will cross north Odisha. Meanwhile, The IMD has given a red alert in Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts for very heavy rainfalls, while an orange alert has been given in Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Jajpur districts for heavy rainfalls today. It also issued yellow warnings in Angul, Khordha and Nayagarh districts of Odisha for moderate rainfalls under the impact of ‘Dana’