Cyclone 'Dana' to make landfall tonight; know who named cyclone Dana?

About 3.62 lakh people from 1,653 villages in 11 districts are likely to be affected by cyclonic storm Dana, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had said, while stating that 100 per cent evacuation was to be completed before evening.

Several coastal districts across Odisha and Southern West Bengal will be impacted by heavy to very heavy rainfall, according to the Indian Metrological Department (IMD). The cyclone will also bring heavy rainfall to parts of Jharkhand.

Odisha's coastal belt experienced heavy rain and squally winds on Thursday morning as the storm approached closer to the state's coast, the IMD said. The highest rainfall of 62 mm was recorded at Paradip, while Rajnagar in Kendrapara district received 24 mm, rain in the last four hours, the Met Department said.

Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty said: "The severe cyclonic storm is likely to re-curve slightly towards west and west-southwards after landfall, triggering rain in southern Odisha around October 26."

Cyclone Dana is heading towards the East Indian coast and is expected to strike Odisha and West Bengal late on October 24. IMD has warned of heavy rains in these states, and the cyclone is already affecting weather conditions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The name 'Dana' to the cyclone was given by Qatar. It is mandatory to follow certain guidelines while naming a cyclone. These guidelines ensure that the names are neutral, without any political, religious, cultural, or gender bias. 'Dana,' meaning "generosity" in Arabic, was chosen according to these rules.

In 2000, the process of naming cyclones began under the WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organization/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). Initially, only eight countries participated: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. However, in 2018, five more countries were added: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

These 13 countries submitted suggestions for the name, and the WMO/ESCAP panel finalized a list of 169 cyclone names. The list, released by the IMD in April 2020, includes 13 name suggestions from each country.

Countries must follow the issued guidelines while suggesting names for the upcoming cyclone. The suggested names should not be associated or linked to politics, political figures, religious beliefs, or anything of a controversial nature.

The cyclone Dana will be the second storm to hit India's coast in the past two months. The first was Cyclone Asna, which struck the region in late August.