Cyclone Dana Claims 1 Life In Bengal, ‘Zero Deaths’ In Odisha; Trains, Flights Resume Ops Amid Heavy Rains
Cyclone Dana, which completed its landfall around 8:30 AM on Friday, October 25, spared Odisha and West Bengal of any major damage to their infrastructure and houses. However, uprooting of trees and electric poles was reported in the states. The flight and train services resumed this morning even as the cyclone’s landfall triggered heavy rains in the region.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asserted that no fatality was reported from his state and that it has achieved its ‘zero casualty mission’. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however said, one person died due to the natural calamity in her state.
According to the India Meterological Depratment the severe cyclonic storm Dana took at least eight and half hours to enter the landmass. The landfall began around 12.05 AM on Friday between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Dhamra in Bhadrak district of Odisha with wind blowing at a speed of around 110 kmph.
After reviewing the cyclone situation in Bhubaneswar this morning, CM Majhi announced that Odisha achieved its “zero casualty mission” since there was “no report regarding any loss of human life or injury in the severe cyclonic storm”. He said all the roads that were blocked by uprooted trees would be cleared during the day. The rescue team in Odisha had started working soon after the intensity of wind reduced last night.
Apart from the blocked roads, several electrical installations like poles and transformers that were damaged, were also being repaired, Majhi said. “By 6 pm on Friday, electricity will be restored in all places including the worst-hit Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak district,” he said.
Cyclone Dana Claims One Life In West Bengal, Says CM
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that cyclone Dana claimed one life in the state, despite the administration evacuating around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
Banerjee spent a night at the state secretariat Nabanna to monitor the situation, following which she who held a review meeting, where she directed the officials to ensure that relief materials were provided to all those affected by the cyclone.
“Only one person died in this natural disaster. The man died at his residence while conducting some cable-related work. It is quite unfortunate. The postmortem examination will give us a clear picture. If required we (state government) will help the family,” Banerjee said.
Cyclone Dana’s Aftermath In West Bengal
Several parts of southern West Bengal were lashed by heavy rains packed with gusty winds. Waterlogging has been reported in various parts of Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district and Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur, adding to the misery of the affected residents.
The extent of the damage is being assessed, but initial reports suggested that the cyclonic storm triggered heavy rains, which continued till Friday, leading to inundation in low-lying areas.
14 battalions from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 13 teams from the Bengal’s disaster management force have been deployed in the coastal regions, news agency PTI reported citing officials. The flight operations, which had been suspended since Thursday evening, finally resumed at the Kolkata airpoty from 8 AM onwards on Friday.
The train services on the south section of the Sealdah Division under the Eastern Railway restarted at 10 AM.
Kolkata Faces Severe Waterlogging
Large parts of Kolkata faced severe waterlogging on Friday morning as cyclone Dana caused torrential rain in its aftermath, causing inundation across the city. According to the regional Met office in Alipore, Kolkata received more than 100 mm of rainfall over the previous 24 hours till 11.30 am today.
Knee-deep water in south and central parts of the city obstructed traffic movement in Bhawanipur, Hazra, New Market, Behala, and Dharmatala areas. Reports of waterlogging were also received from parts of New Town in the northern and eastern parts of the city.Thanthania Kalibari, Mahatma Gandhi Road, VIP Road, Park Circus, and Dum Dum also faced waterlogging.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters in Esplanade area witnessed significant flooding, while patients, health workers, and staff were found wading through ankle-deep water at SSKM Hospital, which is onsidered as one of the state’s primary referral hospitals. The visitors faced major inconvenience and the waterlogging triggered apprehensions of spread of water-borne infections.
Another state-run tertiary healthcare facility in the city, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, also faced waterlogging as its OPD wing accumulated rainwater.
Cyclone Dana’s Aftermath In Odisha
In Odisha, flight and train services resumed in Bhubaneswar on Friday morning even as the cyclone tore through its coast since midnight. CM Majhi said that the flight operations had resumed at Biju Patnaik International Airport with the first flight landing around 9 am.
The East Coast Railway (ECoR), in a statement, stated that trains were running as per schedule after the services restarted, barring those cancelled earlier in its jurisdiction. As a precautionary measure for the cyclone Dana, the ECoR cancelled around 203 trains.
An ECoR official told PTI that trains coming from Visakhapatnam, Howrah, and Kharagpur to Bhubaneswar had started running. “A train on the Kharagpur-Visakhapatnam route would arrive at Bhadrak Station at 2 pm,” the ECoR said.
As per the railway authorities, the trains that were scheduled to originate from Bhubaneswar and Puri were set to commence their journey after Friday noon, barring the notified cancelled trains.
On resumption of flight operations resume at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport following cyclone ‘Dana’, Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan said: “After the cyclone landfall completed, we reassessed the situation and inspected all the areas to check for any damage and resumed operations around 8 am today. Right now the operations are normal and running smoothly.”
