'Dana' Intensifies Into Severe Cyclonic Storm, To Hit Coast Between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra Tonight

The IMD has indicated that Cyclone Dana is likely to move north-westwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay of Bengal by the early hours of October 24.

Odisha Fire Services Chief Sarangi told ANI, "We are fully geared up for the cyclone. We have 182 teams of Fire and Rescue Services of Odisha which is nearly about 2000 people. We will cover all the 14 districts which will be affected...we have 20 teams of NDRF...we also have 400 personnel of State Disaster Force...we have mobilized some team from Forest department."

Khorda Sub Divisional Magistrate Dipti Ranjan Sethi highlighted that all the blocks have been given evacuation plans and wherever there are hoardings in the town area, they have been removed and the officers in the area have also been called and the evacuation plan is ready.

"If needed we will evacuate people, there are also arrangements for food and water for them. We are sure that we can deal with the cyclone," SDM Sethi said.

On Wednesday, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi convened a meeting to assess the state's readiness for Cyclone Dana and announced that evacuation efforts are in progress, with the goal of relocating 90 per cent of residents by 11 AM the following day, and noted that between 3-4 lakh people have already been evacuated.

 (ANI)

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The severe cyclonic storm is expected to hit the Odisha coast between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district on October 24 night and October 25 morning.

“The cyclonic storm 'DANA' (pronounced as Dana) over east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during past six hours, intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal,” said India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The severe cyclonic storm lay centred over the northwest and adjoining central Bay of Bengal, about 260 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 290 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 350 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).

It is very likely to move northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) from mid-night of October 24th to the morning of October 25 as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.

Meanwhile, coastal districts like Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore have been witnessing rainfall since Wednesday evening due to the effect of cyclone Dana which is fast approaching the Odisha coast. The wind speed in these places has been increasing continuously.

Director IMD Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty on Thursday told media persons that Paradip experienced maximum rainfall of 51mm while the Chandbali area witnessed 39mm rainfall during the last 24 hours due to cyclone Dana. She also said that the cyclone will make landfall Thursday midnight and the process will continue till Friday morning.

It is pertinent here to mention that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has earlier said that around three lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in the affected districts till Wednesday evening. The state government had targeted to evacuate around 10 lakh people from vulnerable areas to safer places, cyclone shelters, and relief centres.

He had assured that the process of evacuation would be completed by the afternoon. The state government has created around 6,000 relief centres and cyclone shelters.

--IANS

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The Sensex was trading at 80,194.93 after rising 112.95 points or 0.14 per cent and the Nifty was trading at 24,465.30 after rising 29.80 points or 0.12 per cent.

The market trend remained mixed. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 679 stocks were trading in green, while 854 stocks were trading in red.

The Nifty Bank was at 51,456.95 after rising 217.95 points or 0.43 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,454.40 after slipping 79.15 points or 0.14 per cent. At the same time, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,317.95 after rising 31.75 points or 0.17 per cent.

HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, BEL and Adani Ports were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. At the same time, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever Limited, SBI Life and Nestle India were the top losers.

In the Asian market, the markets of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Jakarta were trading in the red, along with markets of Japan and Bangkok. The US stock markets closed in the red on the previous trading day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,684 crore on October 23, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 6,039 crore on the same day.

According to market experts, the major headwind that the market is facing now is the massive and sustained FII selling which has touched Rs 93,088 crore through October 23, as per the NSDL data.

“The fundamental trigger for the FII outflows is the elevated valuations in India and the relatively cheap and attractive valuations in markets like China and Hong Kong,” said market watchers.

(IANS)

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