The state government of Odisha has started measures to prevent the arrival of the very strong Cyclone Dana in the Bay of Bengal and possible damage due to it. The work of evacuating a total of 1 million 60 thousand 336 people from various areas of the state to safe places has started.

More than 4 lakh people have already been evacuated to permanent and temporary cyclone shelters. The rest will also be taken to a safe place by Thursday afternoon, said Suresh Pujari, Minister for Taxation and Disaster Management of Odisha State Government.

Suresh Pujari told Indian Express, "More than 3,000 villages and areas in 14 districts of the state are at risk of damage. We aim to evacuate 10 lakh 60 thousand 336 people from these villages/areas to safe places. More than 4 lakh people have already been evacuated, the rest will also be evacuated before noon on Thursday.”

Suresh Pujari also said that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered the evacuation of people to be completed by 11 am on Thursday.

A depression in the east-central Bay of Bengal has already developed into a strong cyclone. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Dana will hit the coast between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra in Odisha on Thursday night, October 24.

Earlier, India's Central Meteorological Department issued a warning to 14 districts of Odisha in the forecast of last Tuesday. These districts are Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Angul, Khordah, Nayagarh and Cuttack.

According to the IMD forecast, the wind speed may increase from a minimum of 60 kmph to a maximum of 100-120 kmph in various areas of these 14 districts after the wing hits the land in Odisha. It is also mentioned in the forecast that the height of the sea tide can be up to 1 meter at this time.

According to data from Odisha State Government Meteorological Department, among these 14 districts, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasur are most at risk.

It is also said that several administrative officers and 9 ministers of the state government have been assigned the responsibility of keeping a round-the-clock monitoring of the situation in the at-risk districts and conducting relief operations.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in a news release on Tuesday, “However bad the situation may be, the state government is fully prepared to handle it. I request people not to panic. There is no reason to worry. We are closely monitoring the overall situation and the state government will start relief operations at the earliest after the impact of the storm is over.”