At least 1.1 million people on India's eastern coast hunkered down in storm shelters ahead of a powerful cyclone set to hammer the low-lying region early Friday morning.

Cyclone Dana is likely to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha states -- home to around 150 million people -- as a "severe cyclonic storm", India's weather bureau said.

It predicts winds gusting up to 120 kilometres per hour to cause "major damage" to thatch-roofed houses, which are common on the coast.

Downpours began lashing areas of neighbouring West Bengal state, prompting officials there to be on high alert, while Odisha already saw strong winds and rain on Thursday morning.

Authorities have closed schools, cancelled more than 200 trains, suspended flights and warned fishermen not to venture out to sea.

India's navy said two ships were "standing by with supplies and rescue and diving teams".

The eye of the storm is predicted to make landfall early Friday (from 1830 GMT Thursday), near the coal-exporting port of Dhamra.

Government disaster response teams drove the streets, broadcasting warnings from loudspeakers urging people to take shelter.

Crashing waves are expected to inundate swathes of coastal areas, with water predicted to surge up to two metres above usual tide levels.

India’s eastern coasts have long been prone to cyclones, but the number of intense storms is increasing along the country’s coast, with global warming driven by planet-heating gases causing them to become more extreme and unpredictable.

Last year was India’s deadliest cyclone season in recent years, killing 523 people and costing an estimated $2.5 billion in damage. (AP/AFP)