Balasore/Digha/Kolkata: Cyclone Yaas pounded the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal as it struck the coast around 9 am on Wednesday with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph, swamping the low-lying areas amid a storm surge, authorities said.The place of the landfall was north of Dhamra in Odisha's Bhadrak district and 50 km south of Balasore, close to Bahanaga block, on the coast, they stated.
The wind speed during landfall was at 130-140 kmph, gusting to 155 kmph, according to Doppler radar information.
The landfall procedure is most likely to be over by 1 pm.
The optimum impact will remain in Balasore and Bhadrak districts, Odisha's Unique Relief Commissioner PK Jena said.
The sea will remain rough till Thursday and the accompanying rain will continue, he added.The wind will decrease by the night and the cyclone is likely to leave Odisha for Jharkhand by midnight, Jena said.Odisha has moved 5.8 lakh individuals to more secure locations, while West Bengal has actually moved 15 lakh people ahead of the cyclone.
There was no report of any significant damage in Odisha though some occurrences of trees getting uprooted have actually occurred, Jena said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated the majority of parts of the state were affected by the cyclone and the rain it brought along.
She advised the people of the state, particularly those in Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia and Naida, to remain indoors.High alert in Jharkhand, evacuation on amidst cyclone threatJharkhand, which was put on high alert, continued leaving low-lying areas on Wednesday amidst the forecast that cyclone Yaas would be striking the state by midnight after pounding neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal, authorities stated.
Operations are being performed on war-footing in the susceptible locations in East and West Singhbhum, besides some other districts, in view of the extremely extreme cyclonic storm Yaas, Catastrophe Management Secretary Amitabh Kaushal told PTI.
We are seeing high-speed wind and have evacuated about 6,000 persons from thatched houses and risk zones to shelter houses in more secure locations, East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Suraj Kumar said.People are being moved from low-lying areas near the two rivers in the district that are below the danger mark at present, he stated.
Director-General of Police Neeraj Sinha informed PTI, Satellite phones are being offered to interior Naxal- affected police headquarters for emergent communications, besides batteries in authorities cordless systems have been readied in case of interaction disturbances due to the storm.
We are all set to deal with the situation and have formed rescue groups, he added.
Yaas heightens into very serious cyclonic storm: IMD Cyclone Yaas intensified into an extremely serious cyclonic storm on Tuesday evening, India Meteorological Department Director General M Mohapatra said, even as the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand aggressively evacuated over 12 lakh people to storm shelters by late evening.
The IMD likewise released a red-coded caution alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
The extreme cyclonic storm 'Yaas' (pronounced as 'Yass') over northwest and Bay of Bengal magnified into a really extreme cyclonic storm, Mohapatra stated.'Yaas', which was located 160 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 240 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal over north-west and adjacent west-central Bay of Bengal on Tuesday night, is most likely to get an optimum speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph throughout landfall, the Met department said.
It is most likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Islands close to north of Dhamra and south of Balasore, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the 26th May as a Really Extreme Cyclonic Storm, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD added.Flight operations at the Kolkatas NSCBI airport here will be suspended from 8.30 am to 7.45 pm owing to the weather condition caution on Wednesday, the Airports Authority of India stated.
Bhubaneshwars Biju Patnaik International airport too will remain shut from 11 pm Tuesday till 5 am on Thursday.
The South Eastern Railways too has cancelled several trains, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked Collectors of the 3 north coastal districts to be on a high alert as Yaas crosses over into neighbouring Odisha.Cyclone Yaas most likely to make landfall by noon: IMDCyclone Yaas is likely to make landfall by noon on Wednesday with wind speed of about 130 to 155 kmph, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD), including that it currently lay centred over northwest Bay of Bengal.
We are anticipating 'extremely extreme cyclonic storm' Cyclone Yaas to make landfall by midday today with wind speed of 130-140 kmph gusting 155 kmph, Umashankar Das, senior researcher at the IMD, Bhubaneswar informed ANI.
He included, (Since 6:45 am) The cyclone lay centred over northwest Bay of Bengal near latitude 20.8 ° N and longitude 87.3 ° E, about 40 km east of Dhamra (Odisha), 90 km south-southwest of Digha (West Bengal) and 90 km south-southeast of Balasore (Odisha).
Individuals in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand got up to strong winds and heavy rain on Wednesday early morning and braced for the cyclone.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has actually advised the people living in the seaside areas of Odisha to work together with the regional administration and shift to cyclone shelters.
Over 11.5 lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable locations in West Bengal ahead of the cyclone, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee notified on Tuesday, including that she will stay at the state secretariat 'Nabanna' on May 25 and May 26 to keep an eye on the cyclonic scenario and relief work.Indian Navy gets ready for relief, rescue operationsThe Indian Navy on Wednesday stated it has actually stepped up and made all required arrangements for the rescue and relief operations.
INS Chilka at Khurda has actually stepped up and made all necessary arrangements, to coordinate the rescue and relief operations in close intermediary with State Federal government agencies with the support of Headquarters Eastern Naval Command Visakhapatnam, notified an official release by Indian Navy The Indian Navy further stated that it has been carefully keeping track of the very extreme Cyclonic Storm Yaas closing in on the Eastern Coast which is likely to cross the between Badrak and Balasore districts on 26 May.As part of the preparation, a 24 * 7 cyclone tracking team has actually been established and is functional from 24 Might, assorted relief material and community kitchen for thousands of people are being made all set for immediate release in assessment with state authorities.The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) Operations Room has been keeping an eye on ships motion along the coast in coordination with authorities at Gopalpur, Paradip and Damara ports.
For keeping constant communication with the Naval and civil authorities, consistent liaison is underway from INS Chilka, it included