With the cyclone losing intensity as it crossed the coast, no casualties were reported in Odisha; there was minor damage to the power infrastructure; West Bengal reports two deaths; Chief Minister Mamata tells officials to keep vigil for 48 hours
Severe cyclonic storm Dana spared Odisha on Friday, crossing the coast in Kendrapara district with a much-weakened intensity. The destruction was significantly less than feared.
In West Bengal, heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds lashed Kolkata and the southern districts. Two persons died, one in Kolkata and another in South 24 Parganas district.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the cyclonic storm crossed Habalikhati Nature Camp in Kendrapara district with wind speeds of 100 km to 110 km per hour between 1.30 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. on Friday. It weakened into a cyclonic storm over north coastal Odisha. The maximum sustained wind speed around the centre of the cyclone was about 80-90 km per hour.
The cyclone caused heavy rainfall measuring 16 cm near Chandbali of Bhadrak and Rajkanika of Kendrapara. The storm surge was about one to two metres high above the astronomical tide near low-lying areas of Bhadrak, Balasore and Kendrapara district.
Apart from incidents of uprooting of trees and minor damage to power infrastructure, there was no major destruction reported. Crop damage was observed to be less than anticipated. Vehicle movement was disrupted in the early morning due to fallen branches blocking roads, but the disaster response teams promptly cleared the obstructions.
Minimal damage
“We have achieved our objective of ensuring ‘zero casualty’ during the disaster. We are completely successful in tackling cyclone Dana,” said Chief Minister Mohan Majhi after reviewing the post landfall situation in the morning. Mr. Majhi directed district collectors to expeditiously carry out loss assessment so that compensation can be provided to people.
“Due to prompt action of government and administration, the damage has been minimised,” he said. The Odisha government had evacuated six lakh people to safer places ahead of the cyclone hitting the coast. By 2 p.m. on Friday, power supply was restored in 11.4 lakh houses and 90% restoration was expected to be completed by night.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “We have evacuated 2.16 lakh people from low-lying areas so far.” The Chief Minister, along with other Ministers and high-ranking officers of several departments, monitored the situation overnight from the Secretariat.
She directed officials to keep an eye on North and South 24 Parganas and Paschim and Purba Medinipur districts, which were impacted the most due to the cyclone, for the next 48 hours. “Field surveys should be undertaken to examine the extent of damage caused to agricultural land,” she said.
Several places such as Diamond Harbour, Kalaikunda, Sagar Island, Kharagpur, Haldia, Mohanpur, Jhargram, Uluberia, Kakdwip, Medinipur, Kolkata, Digha, Contai, and Barrackpore received very heavy rainfall.