Cyclone Dana Makes Landfall: An Eight-Hour Battle with Nature

Cyclone Dana completed its landfall on Friday morning, taking eight and half hours to hit the mainland. The storm, initially severe with wind speeds of 110 kmph, has weakened into a cyclonic storm and is set to become a deep depression, according to the IMD.

The severe cyclonic storm named Dana made its landfall on Friday morning, concluding a lengthy eight-and-a-half-hour descent onto the mainland, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Starting its landfall process shortly after midnight at 12:05 am, Dana struck with winds reaching speeds of 110 kmph. By 8:30 am, the storm had weakened to a cyclonic storm with wind speeds between 80 kmph to 90 kmph, gusting up to 100 kmph.

Currently centered about 50 km north-northwest of Dhamra and 30 km northeast of Bhadrak town, the cyclone is projected to move northwestwards across north Odisha and gradually weaken into a deep depression within the next six hours, as monitored by the Doppler weather radar in Paradip.

(With inputs from agencies.)