With the cyclonic storm taking shape over the Bay of Bengal likely to cross the Odisha coast on the night of October 24 landfall is expected somewhere in the coastal reaches of Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts, said met officials.

Earlier, the low-pressure system that had formed over the north Andaman Sea intensified into a depression on Tuesday morning and was moving in a west-northwesterly direction. It was centered about 700 km southeast of Paradip at 0830 hours. It will continue to intensify and is expected to turn into a cyclonic storm over west-central Bay of Bengal by Thursday evening.

The system is likely to move in a west-northwesterly direction for another 24 hours and thereafter take a northwesterly direction till it crosses the coast on the night of October 24.

Wind speed may touch 120 kmph in the sea in the afternoon of October 24 but its speed may get reduced to 85-110 kmph along the Odisha coast on the same night while crossing the coast.

In Bhubaneswar city and nearby areas, the wind speed may be in the range of 55 to 70 kmph on the night of October 24 and 45-55 kmph in Berhampur on October 25 which will be felt till late evening.

Moderate to heavy rain will start in the evening or night of October 22 in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, and Keonjhar which will continue till the next day. Heavy to very heavy rain may occur from the afternoon of October 24 in the districts of Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Nayagarh and Ganjam and continue till the afternoon of October 25.

After crossing the Odisha coast, the system may weaken and move in a south-southwesterly direction towards Koraput district causing rains in the south Odisha districts till October 26.

As the well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Tuesday and moved towards the eastern coast with the likelihood of turning into a severe cyclonic storm, the Odisha government has kept around 800 cyclone shelters for people who will be evacuated from vulnerable areas. Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Tuesday said officials have so far visited 250 cyclone relief centres where the people will be housed after evacuation.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government announced the schools, colleges, and other higher educational institutions for three days from 23 October. While ‘leaves’ of all government employees and doctors in government-run hospitals have been disallowed, the government has shut the Similipal and Bhitarkanika National Park from tomorrow in view of the possible strike of cyclone Dana.

The East Coast Railway has cancelled 178 long-distance trains, most of them passing through Odisha. The trains cancelled include 85 UP trains while 93 are on the Down line. The trains will remain off the track from October 23 to 25.

To ensure readiness to face the impending cyclone, East Coast Railways has activated a round-the-clock Disaster Management Cell at its headquarters at Rail Sadan, as well as at Divisional headquarters in Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam, and Sambalpur. These teams are dedicated to the early restoration of train services and railway infrastructure should they be affected by the cyclone. It has positioned the specialized teams for the swift restoration of tracks, signaling systems, and electrification processes. In the event of power outages, diesel locomotives will be on standby to ensure continued train operations.

The State Government is readying 250 cyclone relief centres where the people will be housed after evacuation. As many as 800 cyclone shelters and 500 temporary shelters are being made ready to house the people after the evacuation, said officials.