KOLKATA: Cyclone Dana uprooted trees and power lines after making landfall on India’s east coast, with officials warning of more fierce weather on Friday.
Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwestern Pacific — are a regular and deadly menace in the northern Indian Ocean.
At least 1.1 million people in the states of Odisha and West Bengal were relocated to storm shelters before the eye of the cyclone reached the coast just after midnight.
District official Siddarth Swain said that the storm had left a “trail of destruction” in the coastal town of Puri.
“Many trees and electric poles are uprooted,” he added. “Makeshift shops on the sprawling beach have been blown away.”
No casualties have been reported so far.
Dana flooded parts of the coast after triggering a surge in sea levels of up to 1.15 meters (3.75 feet).
On landfall the storm had gusting winds up to 120 kilometers per hour, Kolkata-based weather bureau forecaster Somenath Dutta said.
The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, was hit by a “gale force wind” that caused hundreds of trees to be uprooted, West Bengal minister Bankim Chandra Hazra said.
“The cyclone also damaged hundreds of homes, blowing off roofs in coastal areas,” he added.
Major airports have been shut since Thursday night in Kolkata, India’s third-biggest city and a key travel hub, which was lashed by heavy rains.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world heats up due to climate change driven by burning fossil fuels.
Warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, which provides additional energy for storms, strengthening winds.
A warming atmosphere also allows storms to hold more water, boosting heavy rainfall.
But better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced death tolls.
In May, Cyclone Remal killed at least 48 people in India and at least 17 people in Bangladesh, according to government figures.
Trees and power lines flattened as Cyclone Dana hits India
https://arab.news/z8e9m
Trees and power lines flattened as Cyclone Dana hits India
- Cyclones are a regular and deadly menace in the northern Indian Ocean
- At least 1.1 million people in the states of Odisha and West Bengal were relocated to storm shelters
France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister
- Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence
ALGIERS: France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nunez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.”
The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Nunez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed at “restoring normal security relations,” including cooperation in judicial matters, policing and intelligence.
He thanked the Algerian president for instructing his services to work with French authorities to “improve cooperation on readmissions.” Algeria has for months refused to take back its nationals living irregularly in France.
The renewed cooperation is expected to take effect “as quickly as possible” and continue “at a very high level,” Nunez confirmed.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security.
Invited by his counterpart Said Sayoud, Nunez’s trip had been planned for months but repeatedly delayed.
Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Before traveling, Nunez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence.
Ahead of the trip, Nunez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
It is unclear whether the matter was discussed with Tebboune, from whom the journalist’s family has requested a pardon.
