New Delhi: Cyclone Yaas will cross the coast south of Odisha’s Balasore, which is around 150 km south of Kolkata, within the next two hours, with winds up to 140 km per hour and gusts of 155 km per hour. At 10.30 am it was 25 km south-southeast of Balasore.
Cyclone Yaas has begun the process of landfall, the India Meteorological Department said at 9 am. It is expected to cross north of Dhamra and south of Bahanaga, which is around 50 km from Balasore, as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ with 130-140 km per hour winds and 150 km per hour gusts. Earlier, 185 km per hour winds were predicted, but this was revised after Yaas failed to intensify past 2 am
Odisha Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said the landfall process would take between three and four hours. “It is expected that by 1 pm the tail end of the cyclone will also be completely moving to landmass,” he said. Mr Jena said Yaas would move to Mayurbhanj district later today, with 100-110 km per hour winds.
Odisha’s Bhadrak and Balasore districts are likely to be most badly affected. In Bengal, West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts – and Kolkata – may experience stormy weather with 120 km per hour winds . Tidal waves – two to three metres above astronomical tide – are likely during landfall. Extremely heavy rainfall is also predicted over parts of Jharkhand today and tomorrow.
Early visuals from Bengal showed people already wading through knee-deep water in several places. A dramatic video from Purba Medinipur district showed powerful waves pounding the coast; it seemed as if half a village had been dragged underwater and the other half would be washed away by the next wave.
Around 5.8 lakh people have been shifted from low-lying regions in Odisha. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held meetings Tuesday night to review preparations. Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said arrangements – including supply of oxygen and electricity – have been made for Covid hospitals in vulnerable regions.
Over 11.5 lakh people have been evacuated from places along the Bengal coast, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesday, adding she would spend the following two nights at her office – ‘Nabanna’ – to monitor Yaas’ impact and subsequent relief efforts.
Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport will be closed till 7.45 pm. The Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar has been closed till 5 am Thursday. The Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Odisha’s Jharsuguda is shut till 7.45 pm Thursday. The Durgapur and Rourkela airports will stay closed today.
Indian Railways has announced the cancellation of at least 38 long-distance passenger trains headed to both Kolkata and southern states. These services will remain cancelled till Saturday, a Northeast Frontier Railways statement quoted by news agency ANI said. Passengers scheduled to travel on these trains will have ticket charges refunded.
The Navy said INS Chilka would co-ordinate rescue and relief efforts, with operations supported by Eastern Naval Command Headquarters in Visakhapatnam. The Army has deployed 17 columns in Bengal. Nine are in Kolkata and the rest are in Purulia, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. Three columns and an engineer task force have been deployed in Odisha.
A record 115 National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed. Visuals tweeted by agency chief SN Pradhan this morning showed the NDRF already hard at work clearing roads of fallen trees and evacuating people from coastal villages and towns.