More about Cyclone Dana: How is Odisha getting ready for the storm?

 

Sangbad Voice 9, Odisha Desk: Odisha, set to bear the brunt of the tempest, has prepared 800 cyclone shelters, supplemented by an additional 500 temporary accommodations in educational institutions. Minister Suresh Pujari has confirmed that 250 relief centers have been inspected, ensuring the availability of food, water, medical supplies, and electricity. Furthermore, educational establishments, including schools, colleges, and universities in the fourteen affected districts, will remain closed from October 23 to 25.

Government authorities and rescue operatives have initiated the evacuation of residents from regions poised to endure the most severe repercussions of the impending cyclone. In preparation for the relocation of approximately one million individuals, a plethora of multipurpose cyclone shelters, flood shelters, and other facilities have been earmarked and readied to serve as temporary relief camps.

Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management, Suresh Pujari, has assured that comprehensive arrangements are in place to provide sustenance, potable water, illumination, sanitation, and healthcare services for those being relocated to these shelters.

The districts of West Bengal and Odisha are particularly susceptible to the wrath of Cyclone Dana. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts that fourteen districts in Odisha will likely face the brunt of the cyclone: Angul, Puri, Nayagarh, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, and Mayurbhanj. In West Bengal, the South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur districts, along with coastal regions and adjacent areas such as Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Jhargram, and Hooghly, are expected to experience the most devastating effects of the approaching storm.

Cyclone Dana is anticipated to make landfall between Puri and Sagar Island in the early hours of October 25, with wind velocities ranging from 100 to 110 km/h, and gusts potentially escalating to 120 km/h. As Cyclone Dana hurtles toward the Odisha coastline, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's populace, the government is racing against the clock to implement an extensive evacuation strategy aimed at safeguarding around one million individuals across fourteen districts.