BHUBANESHWAR: Tropical weather system Dana, beginning to form over the Bay of Bengal, is likely to hit north coastal Odisha during October 24-25 as a severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said here on Monday.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will review cyclone preparedness with Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Special Relief Commissioner DK Singh later in evening.
State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, "We are fully prepared to face the cyclone. People should not unnecessarily panic over the weather system's prediction."
The state government has directed the district collectors to identify the people living in vulnerable pockets and shift them to safer places. Though the IMD has not yet projected the cyclone's landfall point, the national forecaster said the system may approach the east coast between Odisha and West Bengal with a wind speed 55 knots.
According to the national weather forecaster, a low pressure area formed over eastcentral Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Andaman Sea at about 5.30 am on the day.
The system moved west-northwestwards and persisted as a well marked low pressure area over east-central Bay of Bengal at 11.30 am. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression by Tuesday morning and into a cyclonic storm a day later over east-central Bay of Bengal.
Thereafter, it is expected to move northwestwards and reach northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha-West Bengal coasts by Thursday morning.
Tracking northwestwards, the cyclone is likely to cross north Odisha and West Bengal coast between Puri and Sagar Island between Thursday night and Friday morning as a severe category storm with wind speeds reaching 110 km/ph and gusting up to 120 km/ph, said the IMD.
The regional Met office has issued a red warning for extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in seven districts - Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts on Thursday.