The IMD said Cyclone Dana is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port early Friday.

The distance between Dhamara in Bhadrak district and Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district is about 70 km.

He said that the landing process will start from the night of October 24 and will continue until the morning of October 25.

The maximum speed during the landing process is likely to be around 120 kmph, DG IMD Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said and added that landing is mostly a slow process that usually takes around 5-6 hours.

“Therefore, heavy rain, wind and storm surge will peak during landfall, which is between the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25,” he added.

Stating that Odisha is likely to face a multi-hazard situation when Cyclone Dana makes landfall, Mohapatra said that apart from heavy to very heavy rainfall and at places with extremely heavy rainfall and high speed wind , the state is likely to experience a large upswing. 2 meters away.

IMD scientist Umashankar Das of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, warned that low-lying areas in Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts were likely to be inundated and advised the government to evacuate residents of these regions.

According to IMD sources, wind speed in Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts would be 100–110 kmph with gusts up to 120 kmph along with extremely heavy rains and tides during the landfall, which will last about four to at five o’clock.

The IMD warned of uprooting of trees, breaking of tree branches, damage to kutcha houses, electric poles and other infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the state government has classified the districts as vulnerable.

While Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore are in high risk areas where wind speed would remain at 100-110 kmph with gusts of 120 kmph, Mayurbhanj would be in the second category where wind speed would be of 80-90 km/h, with gusts up to 100 km/h.

Similarly, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Jajpur districts fall under category three where wind speed would be 60-80 kmph with gusts of 90 kmph. Puri, Khurda (comprising Bhubaneswar), Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts fall under category four where wind speed will be 60-70 kmph with gusts up to 80 kmph.

To ensure the safety of the people, the state government has deployed 288 rescue teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and Fire Services.

Districts that may also be affected include Angul, Nayagarh, Boudh, Ganjam, Deogarh and Sambalpur.

The IMD also warned that Cyclone Dana will bring significant rains to the state, predicting light to moderate rains at most locations with heavy rainfall (7-11 cm) at isolated areas over Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Khordha. in the evening of October 23.

Heavy to very heavy rains are expected at several places on October 24 and 25, with isolated areas receiving extremely heavy rains (over 21 cm) in districts like Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur, it added.

The IMD has banned all marine activities, including fishing, in the Bay of Bengal until the cyclone passes.

“All fishermen returned to the coast by Tuesday evening,” Pujari said.

Meanwhile, parts of Odisha’s Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts faced rains and inclement weather on Wednesday afternoon, with the IMD saying that the outer bands of Cyclone Dana have started affecting the east coast.

With the cyclone fast approaching the coast of the state, several activities including the functioning of Orissa High Court, Biju Patnaik International Airport, ports at Paradip and Dhamara, all educational institutions and others remain suspended due to the impending calamity.