Ranchi, Oct 24 (PTI) Parts of Jharkhand could experience heavy to very heavy rainfall from Thursday night under the influence of cyclonic storm Dana, a Met Department official said.
An 'orange' alert has been issued for the Kolhan region (West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan and East Singhbhum districts) for Friday, he said.
This category of alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging from 115 mm to 204 mm in 24 hours, the official said.
"Apart from heavy rain, the region might also experience thunderstorms and gusty winds with speeds of up to 60 kmph," Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said.
In view of the inclement weather, Jharkhand School Education and Literacy Development Department on Thursday said that all categories of schools would be closed on Friday in Kolhan division.
"All categories of government, non-government, aided, unaided and private schools, from kindergarten to class 12, operating in West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharswan districts under Kolhan division will remain closed on October 25 in light of the alert issued by the Meteorological Center, Ranchi, regarding heavy rainfall and strong winds under influence of cyclonic storm Dana," a notice issued by the department said.
The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), the IMD said.
Six teams of the NDRF have been deployed in Jamshedpur and Chaibasa, while two teams were kept on standby in Ranchi to deal with any emergency situation, another official said.
Several parts of central Jharkhand, including Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Gumla, Ramgarh, Giridih, Deoghar, Dhanbad and Jamtara may also experience heavy rainfall on Friday, Anand said.
"Light to moderate rainfall is likely in many parts of the state on Thursday, with forecast of heavy rainfall in the Kolhan division, under the influence of the cyclonic system," he said.
The inclement weather is also likely to impact political activities underway for the upcoming assembly polls in Jharkhand, scheduled to be held in two phases – November 13 and November 20 – with the counting of votes on November 23.
The nomination process for the first phase started on October 18 and will conclude on October 25, while the same for the second phase began on October 22 and will continue till October 29.