With the storm forecast to make landfall by early Friday, residents in parts of West Bengal and Odisha States took shelter in thousands of camps.

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.

Airlines and train services suspended and heavy rain lashes in West Bengal and Odisha. Follow The Hindu's live updates on Cyclone Dana