Authorities in India are evacuating nearly 1.5 million people from the path of an approaching cyclone in the eastern states of Odisha (formerly Orissa) and West Bengal. Thousands of relief workers have been deployed to minimise damage from Cyclone Dana, which is expected to make landfall in the next 24 hours.

Tropical Storm Dana is expected to intensify, bringing winds of 100-110 kph (62-68 mph) and gusts up to 120 kph (74 mph), as it pushes toward the country’s eastern coastline, where it is set to make landfall late Thursday and early Friday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

Cyclone Dana is expected to hammer the low-lying regions of West Bengal and Odisha, home to around 150 million people, as a “severe cyclonic storm” late on Thursday or Friday morning, India’s weather bureau said. At least 1.1 million people on India’s eastern coast were fleeing to storm shelters inland, just hours before the storm’s arrival.

Cyclone Dana has prompted the Odisha government to close schools and advise fishermen to avoid going till October 24

Please follow this space for all the news and latest updates on Cyclone Dana which is expected to make its landfall on Friday. The cyclonic system formed over the east-central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday and is set to bring heavy rainfall in several districts of southern West Bengal including North and South 24 Parganas,

As Cyclone ‘Dana’ barrels toward the Odisha coast, threatening to impact nearly half the state’s population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocat