Bhubaneswar, Oct 24 : The severe cyclonic storm Dana set to hit the Odisha coast at midnight is likely to recurve after making landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamara in the Bhadrak district.

'The cyclonic storm will make landfall while moving towards north-west Odisha as per the forecast. It is expected to slightly recurve towards west and west-south direction after making landfall triggering heavy rainfall in South Odisha districts on October 26,' said Manorama Mohanty, Director of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bhubaneswar.

Several coastal districts in Odisha have been receiving rainfall since Wednesday afternoon and the wind speed has been continuously increasing in the districts. As per reports, trees were uprooted at some places in the coastal districts and the fire services personnel and other rescue teams were busy clearing the roads on Thursday.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the massive evacuation process initiated by the district administrations has been almost completed in several affected districts. The minister expressed satisfaction with the overall preparations to tackle the severe cyclonic storm.

He again urged people not to panic, saying the situation would return to normalcy after 48 hours of hardship. He reiterated that the government is well prepared to tackle the situation.

The Cyclonic storm that developed over the east-central Bay of Bengal intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday night. The severe cyclonic storm is expected to hit the Odisha coast between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district on October 24 night and October 25 morning.

It is pertinent here to mention that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has earlier said that around three lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in the affected districts till Wednesday evening. The state government has targeted to evacuate around 10 lakh people from vulnerable areas to safer places, cyclone shelters, and relief centres.

The government has created more than 6,000 relief centres and cyclone shelters.

/IANS