Authorities in Odisha and West Bengal evacuated lakhs of people, shut schools, cancelled more than 400 trains and suspended flight operations as they braced on Thursday for severe cyclonic storm Dana,

Cyclone Dana is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), IMD said. Track all updates here.

At least 10 lakh people on India's eastern coast are taking shelter ahead of Cyclone Dana, predicted to make landfall early Friday morning. The cyclone, classified as a "severe cyclonic storm," is expected to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha,

Around one million people were evacuated on Thursday, October 24, from regions of India’s eastern coast as Tropical Cyclone Dana drew near.As per BBC, considering this, schools, airports and train services have already been shut down.

Cyclone Dana is expected to hammer the low-lying regions of West Bengal and Odisha, home to around 150 million people, as a “severe cyclonic storm” late on Thursday or Friday morning, India’s weather bureau said. At least 1.1 million people on India’s eastern coast were fleeing to storm shelters inland, just hours before the storm’s arrival.

Odisha and West Bengal are evacuating around 12 lakh people ahead of severe cyclonic storm Dana, which is approaching the coast. Officials have expedited evacuations and set up cyclone centers, aiming for zero casualties amid heavy rainfall and rough.

Authorities in India are evacuating nearly 1.5 million people from the path of an approaching cyclone in the eastern states of Odisha (formerly Orissa) and West Bengal. Thousands of relief workers have been deployed to minimise damage from Cyclone Dana,