With Cyclone Yaas all set to make landfall between Dhamra Port and Balasore on the Odisha coast on Wednesday, more than 11 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in Odisha and West Bengal
While West Bengal has evacuated over nine lakh people, Odisha has moved over 2 lakh people from vulnerable areas to safety. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), meanwhile, has said that the storm is likely to intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” in the next six hours.
IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclone’s impact will be severe for six hours before and after the landfall and Chandbali will witness the maximum damage. The maximum wind speed of Yaas is expected to be up to 185 km per hour between 5.30 and 11.30 am along the north Odisha coast as the cyclone approaches the land.
Odisha’s districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts are likely to be affected. In Bengal, the districts of West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, along with state capital Kolkata, may experience storm with wind speeds of up to 120 km per hour. Flight operations at Kolkata airport will be suspended from 8:30 am to 7:45 pm of 26 May, ANI reported quoting airport authorities.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced she will stay at the state secretariat on Tuesday night to monitor the rescue and relief operation. Governor Jagdeep Dhankar also visited the secretariat in the evening.
Meanwhile, National Disaster Response Force NDRF chief S.N. Pradhan said that a record 115 teams have been deployed across five states, including Bengal and Odisha, and one Union Territory.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS