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.

"Due to the speed of Cyclone Dana so far, the likely area of its impact is the coast of India's Odisha. It may affect various areas of India's West Bengal and Bangladesh's coastal districts of Khulna and Barishal," according to the BMD.

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.