Odisha: Indian Air Force airlifts NDRF team, relief material ahead of Cyclone Dana landfall

One IL 76 and AN 32 carrying the NDRF personnel and relief material were flown in from Bhatinda and landed in Bhubaneswar early this morning.

As per the Indian Meteorological Department, ''Cyclone Dana'' is anticipated to make landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Bhadrak or Balasore off the Odisha coast.

The Odisha government is expecting maximum impact in districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Puri.

The IMD said that a deep depression over the East Central Bay of Bengal has moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 18 km per hour and lay centred at 5:30 am on Wednesday, over latitude 16.3 N and longitude 89.9 E.

The depression lay 560 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 630 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) and 630 km south-southeast of Khepupara (Bangladesh).

The depression is also likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the north-west Bay of Bengal by the morning of October 24 and cross north of Odisha and West Bengal coasts between the Puri and Sagar island during the night of October 24th and morning of October 25th as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100 to 110 km per hour, gusting 120 km per hour.

An upper air cyclonic circulation also lies over the East central Arabian sea in the lower and middle tropospheric levels.

On October 22, Odisha Education Minister Nityananda Gond announced that schools would remain closed in areas that could be affected by the cyclone from October 23 to 25, to ensure the safety of the students.

Minister Gond told ANI, "To ensure the safety of students the schools will be shut for October 23-25 given the impending cyclonic storm. Orders have been given to the district administration to ensure that the schools remain shut during this duration...Schools will remain closed in the areas which could be affected by the cyclone...The state government will take every step to ensure the safety of the public.

"In an order from the Odisha government, it said that the colleges and universities falling under 14 districts will remain closed for three days."

"Given the impending Cyclonic Storm (Dana) over the Bay of Bengal, colleges and universities falling under the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Angul, Nayagarh, Cuttack and Khurda shall remain closed from October 23 to October 25," the order read.

Extremely heavy rainfall is expected to occur in Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal from October 23 to 26, as per predictions by the IMD.

NDRF teams in Odisha in West Bengal are on standby ahead of the cyclone. Additional rescue and relief teams of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard along with ships and aircraft have been kept in readiness. (ANI)