Flood risk as Cyclone Dana hits India, uprooting power lines and trees
Al Jazeera
No casualties reported after thousands evacuated; authorities warn of strong winds and torrential rains.
Cyclone Dana uprooted trees and power lines after making landfall on India’s eastern coast, the authorities said, warning of heavy rainfall and intense winds.
At least 1.1 million people in the states of Odisha and West Bengal were relocated to storm shelters, the AFP news agency reported, before the cyclone’s landfall after midnight on Friday, with maximum sustained winds of about 110 km/h (68 mph) and gusts up to 120 km/h (75 mph).
As of mid-morning on Friday, Dana was moving inland over the northern coast of Odisha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. It is expected to “weaken gradually” into a depression in the next six hours.
No deaths have been reported so far, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was quoted by India’s The Telegraph newspaper as saying.
“Our zero-casualty mission has been successful with cooperation of everyone,” Majhi said.
