Bhubaneswar: The low pressure area forming in the Bay of Bengal will turn into a deep pressure area on Tuesday and into cyclone 'Dana' on Wednesday. After turning into a cyclone, it will reach the northern Bay of Bengal on the morning of October 24. After this, it will move towards the northwest and cross the coast between Puri of Odisha and the Bay of Bengal on the night of 24th or the morning of 25th October. During this time, the wind speed is likely to be around 120 kilometers per hour.

Schools and colleges closed, President's visit postponed

Schools and colleges have been closed in Odisha in view of the possibility of cyclone. Leave of government employees has been cancelled till October 26. President Draupadi Murmu's three-day Odisha visit proposed from Tuesday has also been postponed in view of the possibility of heavy rainfall in the coastal areas of Odisha between October 23 and 25 due to the cyclone.

Advice not to travel to Puri

According to Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, along with issuing an alert in the entire state centered on 'Dana', 17 ODRAF teams have been deployed in 10 coastal districts as a precautionary measure. Tourists have been advised to vacate the city and not to travel to Puri on October 24-25 and fishermen have been advised not to go into the sea.

Heavy rain forecast

The municipal corporation's control room will remain operational 24 hours a day during the entire cyclone period. As a precaution, 250 relief centres and 500 additional relief centres have been set up. Bhubaneswar Meteorological Department Director Manorama Mohapatra has said that the low pressure area will become extremely active on Wednesday. This will cause heavy to very heavy rainfall in all the districts of Odisha.

The cyclone will also affect other districts of the state, where moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast. This sequence of rainfall will continue till October 25. Its effect will also be seen in the coastal areas of Jharkhand and Bengal.

Why was it named 'Dana'

The process of naming cyclones started in 2000 courtesy of the World Meteorological Organization. For this, there is a panel of countries like Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand etc., which selects the names of cyclones. 'Dana' is an Arabic name, it means 'generosity' in Arabic. This name has been selected by Qatar.

178 trains including Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani canceled for three days

Due to cyclone 'Dana' formed over the Bay of Bengal, 178 trains passing through coastal Odisha have been cancelled. These include trains like Howrah-Secunderabad, Shalimar-Puri Superfast, New Delhi-Bhubaneswar, Howrah-Bhubaneswar, Howrah-Puri Superfast, New Delhi-Puri, Kharagpur-Khurda, Sambalpur-Puri Express etc. The operation of these trains on the Puri-Howrah route will remain blocked from 23 to 25 October. 

Coast Guard on alert, ships and aircraft deployed

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday said it is fully alert and has deployed its ships and aircraft to deal with any emergency in view of the cyclone forming over the Bay of Bengal.

The ICG has also deployed helicopters and remote operating stations at Haldia in Bengal and Paradip in Odisha to issue regular weather warnings and safety advisories to fishermen and sailors. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has so far deployed nine teams in Bengal to deal with any situation.