Bhubaneswar, Oct 24: The cyclonic storm developed over the east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to make landfall on the Odisha coast between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamara area of Bhadrak district between October 24 night and October 25 morning as a severe cyclonic storm.

As per the DG of the India Meteorological Department, Mrutyunjaya Mohapatra, the process of landfall will take around five to six hours during the said period. Heavy rainfall, wind and storm surges will reach the peak during the landfall process.

The Odisha government has taken several measures to mitigate the impact of the impending severe cyclonic storm ‘DANA’.

Taking the cyclone seriously, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has earlier noted that his government is targeting zero casualties. He further added that people in the vulnerable areas of the districts expected to be affected by cyclone ‘DANA’ are being shifted to cyclone shelters on a war footing.

He said 30 per cent of the people have so far been evacuated from the vulnerable areas. The evacuation process will continue throughout the night and 90 per cent of the people will be shifted by 11 am on Thursday.

The state government is targeting to evacuate around 10 lakh people from vulnerable areas to safer places before the cyclone hits the Odisha coast. The state government has created around 6000 relief and cyclone shelters across the state to accommodate people being evacuated from vulnerable places.

He assured the people that all the concerned departments of the state government were fully ready to tackle the severe cyclonic storm.

The Chief Minister noted that some ministers have been entrusted with the task of supervising the cyclone situation in the assigned districts.

The ministers have left for the assigned districts after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Senior bureaucrats have also been deputed to different districts to supervise overall rescue and relief operations.

Meanwhile, the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar has suspended flight operations at the airport from Thursday 5 PM to 9 AM on October 25th. Earlier, the East Coast Railway had suspended more than 150 trains in view of the probable cyclonic storm.

All the educational institutions, parks, libraries, and museums located in the affected districts have also been closed due to the severe Cyclone Dana.

The Orissa High Court will remain closed on Thursday and Friday in view of the cyclonic storm.

The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) has also postponed the Odisha Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2023.

--IANS

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