Cyclone Dana Ravages Odisha Coast, Leaves Farmers and Fishermen Devastated

Hundreds of thatched homes were either partially or completely destroyed, while the boats of local fishermen were wrecked, dashed against rocks by the strong winds. Thousands of acres of farmland, including paddy crops in the flowering stage, were inundated by tidal surges and heavy rain, dashing farmers' hopes for a good harvest this season.

On Friday morning, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the state’s response to the disaster and directed district collectors to prepare detailed damage reports, with submission deadlines set for seven days.

After landfall at Habalikhati Nature Camp, near Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district, around midnight, Cyclone Dana brought heavy rains and powerful winds. Homes with thatched and asbestos roofs were torn apart, while uprooted trees and downed electric poles blocked major roadways.

Odisha’s revenue minister, Suresh Pujari, reported that the cyclone, which hit at 12:05 a.m., brought wind speeds of up to 110 km/h, continuing to batter the coast into Friday afternoon.

Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, and Balasore bore the full brunt of the storm, with thatched homes and asbestos roofs destroyed across fishing villages. Thousands of trees were uprooted as the cyclone ripped through the region. In response, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and Fire Services launched immediate rescue and recovery operations, working tirelessly to clear roads and restore access to essential services. By the afternoon, cleared roads allowed relief teams to bring food, drinking water, and medicine to the affected areas.

Tidal surges as high as two meters were reported at the landfall site, compounding the devastation. Tragically, an 80-year-old woman passed away at a cyclone shelter in Kendrapara district, while in Bhadrak’s Dhamra region, high tides surged several kilometers inland, flooding homes and farmland and displacing more residents.

With the cyclone weakening to a depression, restoration and relief efforts accelerated. Fire Services, ODRAF, and NDRF teams were actively engaged in removing uprooted trees and clearing public roads to restore normalcy. The districts of Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kendrapara, which were hardest hit, woke up Friday to turbulent seas, gusty winds, and rainfall, while residents of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri experienced only light showers and cloudy skies.

Director General of Fire Services, Sudhansu Sarangi, assured that restoration work was progressing rapidly. “Three districts have been heavily impacted: Kendrapara’s Pattamundai, Rajakanika, and Rajnagar; Balasore’s Soro, Baripada, and Khaira; and Bhadrak’s Chandbali, Dhamnagar, and Basudevpur. There was a partial impact in Jagatsinghpur’s Kujang area,” he said.

“Chief Minister Majhi has directed us to prioritize clearing all blocked roads. Our immediate focus is on removing trees blocking main roads and access routes to hospitals and other essential institutions. Trees that have fallen on homes and electric poles will also be addressed with urgency,” Sarangi added.

“We are fully equipped to handle the situation. There is no need for alarm, as every fire station in Odisha is a nodal center for disaster response, equipped with advanced tools used by both NDRF and ODRAF,” he stated confidently.