After Cyclone Dana made landfall on the coast of Odisha and West Bengal, and continued through Thursday night, the tail of the cyclone crossed land on Friday at 1.30 am. The IMD has issued an alert for heavy to very heavy rain in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Jhargram till Friday, while heavy rain may continue till Saturday in Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, and South 24 Parganas.

The IMD said that in West Bengal, East Midnapore was likely to be most affected by the cyclone. Tourists were asked to evacuate the hotels in beach destinations Digha and Mandarmani, while meteorologists said that the height of the waves would be much higher than “normal”. A storm has been raging on the coast of West Bengal since Thursday night with a speed of more than 100 km.

Due to the cyclone, the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata was closed for flights on Thursday but resumed operations at 8 am on Friday along with the Bhubaneshwar airport in Odisha.

Kolkata has so far not been significantly affected by the cyclone, with relatively less rain and a maximum wind speed of 80 km per hour.

At present, the cyclone is located 50 km north-northwest of Habalikhati. It is expected to lose strength and become a low-pressure area before taking a south-west turn.

“The severe cyclonic storm Dana over north coastal Odisha moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and lay centred at 5.30 am today, October 25, over the same region about 20 km north-northwest of Dhamara, 30 km east of Bhadrak and 40 km north-northwest of Habalikhati nature camp (Bhitarkanika). It is likely to move nearly northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by forenoon of today,” read a statement by the IMD.