Bhadrak: The district administration in Bhadrak, Odisha, has begun evacuating residents to cyclone shelters as Cyclone Dana is expected to make landfall on October 25.
"We are evacuating the people from vulnerable areas. Some people are coming on their own, while some are being brought by police as they don't want to leave their homes… Three NDRF teams are deployed, 1 is stationed at the headquarters 2 are in the field. We have 2 ODRF teams and 4 Fire Department teams are at work," said Bhadrak Collector Dilip Routrai.
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Sandeep Kumar Behera, the assistant fisheries officer, announced that fishing activities are banned until October 26 due to the impending cyclone. "In Bhadrak's jurisdiction there are 911 registered boats, 10 FLC and all the boats have been docked in the landing centre. Fishing has been prohibited till October 26," he said.
On Wednesday, Devendra Thakkar, CEO of Dhamra Port, stated that all port operations have been halted, and the entire workforce has been evacuated in preparation for Cyclone Dana. Dhamra Port CEO Thakkar said, "As per the IMD prediction, Cyclone Dana will make landfall from above Dhamra port...Dhamra port has made a good SOP to face cyclone. Cyclone will hit the port on 25th October and we have already stopped all the functions of port...entire workforce of the port has been evacuated."
Sudhanshu Sarangi, the Director General of Odisha Fire Services, reported that they have assembled 182 teams, comprising nearly 2,000 personnel, who are ready to respond to the cyclone's impact. "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 mobilised some team from Forest dept," he said.
Prasanna Pradhan, the Director of Bhubaneswar Airport, confirmed that flight operations will be suspended for 17 hours from October 24 to October 25 due to the approaching cyclone. "Cyclone Dana is approaching Odisha and West Bengal coast as per MET forecast and because of that Bhubaneshwar will also be affected due to strong wind and heavy rainfall...we have unanimously decided to suspend (flight) operations for 17 hours, from 24th October to 25th October 9 am. Around 45 flights will be cancelled, affected, or delayed," he said
Odisha Minister Suryavanshi Suraj mentioned that the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) has been deployed, and the state government is closely monitoring the situation as Cyclone Dana approaches. "In all the central points affected by the cyclone, arrangements for electricity, food, medical are being done. About 3000-4000 people have been sent to safe places. The effect of the cyclone is likely to be more in the Dhamra area, for this we will monitor here throughout the night. The ODRAF team has been deployed," he said.
"Arrangements have also been made for NDRF and road blockage... The port administration has also been talked to. The port administration will also stop work for 2 days for the safety of its employees. We are taking stock of every situation," he added.
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Published: 24 Oct 2024, 10:27 am IST
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