Hours before a strong cyclone is predicted to batter the low-lying area, authorities said Thursday that at least 1.1 million residents on India’s eastern coast are evacuating to storm shelters inland.

According to India’s weather agency, Cyclone Dana is expected to make landfall as a “severe cyclonic storm” late Thursday around the shores of West Bengal and Odisha states, which are home to some 150 million people.

Wind gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour (74 miles per hour) are predicted.

Major airports would close tonight, including Kolkata, a major travel hub, where the sprawling megacity was already being battered by torrential rain.

About 230 kilometres (140 miles) southwest of the megacity of Kolkata, the storm’s eye is expected to make landfall early Friday close to the port of Dhamra, which exports coal.

Muhammad Yunus, the leader of the interim administration, stated that “extensive preparations” are being taken for the effect, which is also anticipated to affect nearby low-lying Bangladesh.

Large tracts of coastal regions are likely to be submerged by crashing waves, with sea levels projected to rise up to two meters (6.5 feet) above normal tide levels.

“Nearly a million people from the coastal areas are being evacuated to cyclone centres,” Odisha state health minister Mukesh Mahaling told AFP.

“More than 100,000 people have been shifted to safer places so far,” stated Bankim Chandra Hazra, a government minister in the adjacent state of West Bengal.

“Save lives”: Puri, a well-known beach resort, has ordered businesses to close and advised visitors to go.

Puri district magistrate Siddharth Swain stated, “Every effort is being made to confront the cyclone and save lives.”

Flights would be halted overnight Thursday owing to “predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall,” according to Pravat Ranjan Beuria, director of the Kolkata airport.

Numerous trains have been cancelled, and ships from Kolkata have been told to remain in port, while the airport in the city of Bhubaneshwar will follow suit.

Faruk-e-Azam, the disaster minister for Bangladesh, told AFP that although officials were on “high alert,” no evacuation orders had been issued because it was expected that India would be affected by the storm’s severe effects.

He declared, “We are keeping a careful eye on the cyclone’s progress.”

In the northern Indian Ocean, cyclones—the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwest Pacific—are a frequent and fatal threat.

As the world warms as a result of climate change brought on by the use of fossil fuels, scientists have warned that storms are getting stronger.

More water vapour is released from warmer ocean surfaces, giving storms more energy and bolstering winds.

They may also store more water because to a warmer environment, which increases the amount of heavy rainfall.

However, the number of fatalities has significantly decreased due to improved forecasting and more efficient evacuation preparation.

According to government statistics, Cyclone Remal killed at least 48 persons in India and at least 17 in Bangladesh in May.