Bhubaneswar: The latest possible track of Cyclone ‘Dana’ brewing over Bay of Bengal, issued by India Meteorological Department indicates likely movement of storm along Odisha coast between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapada and Dhamra in Bhadrak during the landfall on October 24 night.
According to Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University here, the cyclonic storm is likely to cross the Odisha coast on the night of October 24. “The landfall is expected to be somewhere in the coastal reaches of Kendrapada and Bhadrak districts,” Director of CEC Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu said.
Meanwhile, the depression is moving in a west-northwesterly direction and it is expected to turn into a cyclonic storm over Westcentral Bay of Bengal by the evening of October 23. “The system is likely to move in a west-northwesterly direction for another 24 hours and thereafter take a northwesterly direction till it crossed the coast in the night of October 24,” he said.
Wind speed may touch 120 kmph in the sea in the afternoon of October 24 but its speed may get reduced to 85-110 kmph along the Odisha coast on the same night while crossing the coast, he added.
In Bhubaneswar city and nearby areas the wind speed may be in the range of 55 to 70 kmph on October 24 night and 45-55 kmph in Berhampur on October 25 which will be felt till late evening. Moderate to heavy rain will start in the evening or night of October 22 in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak and Keonjhar districts and will continue till the next day. Heavy to very heavy rain may occur from the afternoon of October 24 in Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Nayagarh and Ganjam and continue till the afternoon of October 25, Dr Sahu said.
After crossing Odisha coast, the system may get weakened and move in a south-southwesterly direction towards Koraput district causing rains in the south Odisha districts till October 26, he added.