Cyclone Dana: Thousands evacuate to shelters as threat looms on eastern coast

Kolkata: Thousands of residents along India’s eastern coast evacuated to safer inland storm shelters on Wednesday in anticipation of a strong cyclone expected to arrive later this week.

Cyclone Dana is predicted to strike the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha, where approximately 150 million people live, as a "severe cyclonic storm," according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone is forecast to make landfall near Puri, a well-known tourist spot, late Thursday night.

"Authorities have begun evacuating more than 100,000 people in coastal areas," said West Bengal state government minister Bankim Chandra Hazra. "Authorities have ordered the shutdown of all educational institutions" in nine districts of the state until Sunday, he added.

In response to the impending storm, the IMD advised fishing boats to remain ashore, and local reports indicate that authorities in Odisha have cancelled around 200 train services. A senior official at Kolkata's international airport, the third-largest city in India, mentioned that they are considering halting all air traffic starting Thursday.

Tourists in coastal regions of West Bengal and Odisha have been instructed to leave beach resorts and seek refuge in safe shelters. "There was a rush of tourists at the railway station in Puri to leave," said railway spokesman Kaushik Mitea.

Cyclones, similar to hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the northwestern Pacific, are common and dangerous events in the northern Indian Ocean. Previously, Cyclone Remal resulted in at least 48 fatalities in India in May, as reported by government sources. While improvements in forecasting and evacuation strategies have helped reduce casualties, scientists warn that climate change is leading to increasingly powerful storms.

Agency