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.

Heavy rain and high winds lashed parts of eastern India on Friday as a tropical storm hit coastal areas and rescue teams on high alert braced for its impact.