Flights suspended at India's Kolkata, Odisha state as cyclone approaches

By Jatindra Dash

BHUBANESWAR (Reuters) -Flights to and from the capital cities of India's eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal, including Kolkata, will be suspended from Thursday evening to Friday morning as the region braces for a cyclone set to hit during that time, officials said. 

Cyclone 'Dana', currently over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to cross the coasts of the states between midnight and Friday morning with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph (62-68 mph), gusting up to 120 kph (75 mph), the weather department said. 

Both states have closed schools in the areas that are expected to be bear the brunt of the storm and asked fishermen not to venture out to sea.  

Television footage showed fishermen rushing to secure their straw homes and boats with ropes, and officials escorting residents in coastal areas to shelters as heavy winds and rains pounded parts of Odisha on Thursday. 

The Adani group's Dhamra port in the state's Bhadrak region has also suspended operations. 

"We have evacuated approximately 50,000 people so far, and a total of around 300,000 people are likely to be evacuated," Special Relief Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh told Reuters. 

Neighbouring West Bengal state has also issued a red alert for three districts located close to the area where the cyclone is expected to make landfall, officials said.

The state's capital city of Kolkata remained overcast on Thursday with short spells of rain. 

Severe storms lash coastal cities in India and neighbouring Bangladesh during the cyclone season from April to December each year, causing extensive damage. 

Odisha's worst cyclone in recent years was in 1999, which raged for 30 hours and killed 10,000 people.  

At least 16 people were killed when a cyclone lashed India and Bangladesh in May, packing speeds of up to 135 kmph.

(Additional reporting by Subrata Nag Choudhary in Kolkata, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)