Indian authorities shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled trains in parts of the country as rescue teams braced on Thursday for a tropical storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.

Tropical Storm Dana is expected to intensify, bringing winds of 100-110 kph (62-68 mph) and gusts up to 120 kph (74 mph), as it pushes toward the country’s eastern coastline, where it is set to make landfall late Thursday and early Friday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

Cyclone Dana is expected to hammer the low-lying regions of West Bengal and Odisha, home to around 150 million people, as a “severe cyclonic storm” late on Thursday or Friday morning, India’s weather bureau said. At least 1.1 million people on India’s eastern coast were fleeing to storm shelters inland, just hours before the storm’s arrival.

Indian authorities have shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled trains in parts of the country as rescue teams braced

Authorities in India are evacuating nearly 1.5 million people from the path of an approaching cyclone in the eastern states of Odisha (formerly Orissa) and West Bengal. Thousands of relief workers have been deployed to minimise damage from Cyclone Dana, which is expected to make landfall in the next 24 hours.

A powerful cyclone is expected to barrel into India's eastern coast early on Friday. Here are some key details about its landfall and intensity, and the measures being taken by authorities to protect people and property.

According to an India Meteorological Department bulletin, the cyclone was very likely to cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkan

Storm Dana is forming in the Bay of Bengal, forcing Indian authorities to shut down schools, evacuate hundreds of thousands of people, and cancel train services. Up to one million people are expected to have to leave their homes,

A severe cyclonic storm is set to pummel the coasts of India and Bangladesh on Thursday, spurring authorities to cancel train services, warn fishermen to stay home and begin evacuating thousands of people from vulnerable sites.

India is evacuating nearly 1.5 million people from the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal as Cyclone Dana nears, with landfall expected within the next 24 hours. Authorities have deployed thousands of relief workers and set up temporary camps to safeguard those in the cyclone’s path.