Heavy rains and gusty winds battered southern West Bengal on Thursday as the state administration evacuated over 2.5 lakh people to safety in anticipation of the impending severe cyclonic storm 'Dana,

Severe Cyclonic Storm Dana will hit between Bhitarkanika and Dhamara in Odisha from Thursday night to Friday morning. Wind speeds will reach up to 120 kmph. West Bengal and Odisha have started evacuations and set up shelters.

The cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall in Odisha and southern Bengal early Friday, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms.

At least 10 lakh people on India's eastern coast are taking shelter ahead of Cyclone Dana, predicted to make landfall early Friday morning. The cyclone, classified as a "severe cyclonic storm," is expected to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha,

Trees were uprooted and power infrastructure was hit at isolated places in Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts while disaster response forces cautiously treaded to remove obstructions along road

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.

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,

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

Flights to and from the capitals of Odisha and West Bengal will be suspended from Thursday evening to Friday morning.

The storm, that is currently over east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port.

Cyclone Dana is expected to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port on Oct 25. Catch all the latest news updates on Cyclone Dana here