With the weather department predicting flash floods, both Odisha and West Bengal governments remain on high alert and train and flight operations in both the states have been suspended.

Dana poses a threat to nearly half of Odisha's population, with West Bengal also set to experience extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday.

The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ is underway and will continue for the next 1-2 hours. After that, it is expected to move nearly west-northwest wards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by the forenoon of today.

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.

The storm began making landfall on the Odisha coast on Thursday night, with landfall expected to continue into Friday morning. Heavy rains and gusty winds are likely to hit southern West Bengal so the people were evacuated in preparation for severe cyclonic storm 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.

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,

Cyclone Dana has prompted the Odisha government to close schools and advise fishermen to avoid going till October 24

Flights to and from the capitals of Odisha and West Bengal will be suspended from Thursday evening to Friday morning.