Cyclone Dana Completes Landfall Process, Taking Over Eight Hours to Move Inland

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm Dana was completed on Friday morning, with the system taking at least eight and a half hours to move inland.

The IMD in its hourly bulletin said: "The landfall process has been completed." The landfall of Cyclone Dana began around 12:05 AM on Thursday and took approximately eight and a half hours to complete. According to an IMD scientist, the process was finished by around 8:30 AM on Friday.

The severe cyclonic storm that made landfall with wind speeds of 110 km/h has since weakened into a cyclonic storm. As of now, the cyclone is centered approximately 50 km north-northwest of Dhamra and 30 km northeast of Bhadrak town.

The maximum sustained wind speed around the centre of the cyclone is about 80 kmph to 90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph," the IMD said. The cyclone is likely to move northwestwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a deep depression during next six hours, the IMD said, adding that the system is under continuous surveillance of the Doppler weather radar at Paradip.