Helicopters monitor waves as Cyclone Dana hits eastern India

October 28, 2024

by Aditi Verma

As Cyclone Dana intensifies, massive floodwaters have surged into residential zones in eastern India’s Odisha, prompting authorities to deploy helicopters to closely monitor the advancing waves and assess the safety of affected areas.

The incident took place at Habalikhati Sea Beach in Kendrapara district within the Bhitarkanika National Park on October 26. 

Visuals showed cyclone Dana’s flooded waves had reached residential areas near the sea, posing a significant threat. Helicopters are monitoring the situation, capturing footage of the dangerously swift currents. The turbulent waves crash against the shoreline, creating an alarming scene as the floodwaters encroach upon homes, emphasizing the cyclone’s devastating impact.

As Cyclone Dana continues to impact communities in Odisha, approximately 50,000 households in the affected districts of Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore remain without power. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi provided an update on the situation during a media briefing on Sunday, emphasizing that restoration efforts are in their final stages.

Majhi reported that power has been restored to 98% of the areas affected by the cyclone. Out of the 22.84 lakh power consumers impacted, service has been reinstated for 22.32 lakh households. However, the remaining households are still waiting for power due to marooned villages that have yet to become accessible. “The restoration work has reached the last stage, and obstructions on roads have been completely cleared,” he stated.

To expedite the restoration of the power supply, approximately 7,000 workers have been deployed to the cyclone-hit regions. These dedicated teams are working tirelessly to ensure that power is restored to the remaining households as quickly as possible.

In addition to power outages, Cyclone Dana has necessitated the evacuation of over 8 lakh individuals to 6,210 shelter centers. Most evacuees have since returned home as conditions improved; however, around 30,000 individuals remain in 470 shelters due to ongoing flooding that has rendered their homes uninhabitable.

* Non Exclusive Video rights*