Cyclone Dana: 1 million people to be evacuated as Odisha braces for impact

As Cyclone Dana' barrels toward the Odisha coast, threatening to impact nearly half the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating around 10 lakh people in 14 districts to safety. The Indian Meterological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port, around 70km away, early Friday. It said that the landfall process will start from the night of October 24 and will continue till the morning of October 25. The maximum speed during the landfall process is likely to be around 120 kmph, IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. He said landfall is mostly a slow process which usually takes around 5-6 hours. "Therefore, heavy rainfall, wind and storm surge will reach the peak during the landfall time which is between October 24 night and October 25 morning," he added. According to the latest IMD bulletin, the cyclone moved northwestwards with a spe