Indian authorities have shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled trains in parts of the country as rescue teams braced on Thursday for a tropical storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.

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.

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,

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.

Cyclone Dana continues to intensify, raising concerns for the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The Meteorological Office has warned of heavy to very heavy rains, accompanied by gusty winds, over the northern Bay of Bengal and the adjacent coastal districts, as well as outlying islands.

A powerful cyclone is expected to barrel into India's eastern coast early on Friday. Here are some key details about its landfall and intensity, and the measures being taken by authorities to protect people and property.

Over a million people have been evacuated and flights and trains have been suspended as India’s eastern regions and Bangladesh braced for a severe cyclone. Cyclone Dana is expected to hammer the low-lying regions of West Bengal and Odisha,

According to an India Meteorological Department bulletin, the cyclone was very likely to cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkan

Storm Dana is forming in the Bay of Bengal, forcing Indian authorities to shut down schools, evacuate hundreds of thousands of people, and cancel train services. Up to one million people are expected to have to leave their homes,