INDIA: The cyclone YAAS landfall began near Dhamra port in Odisha at 9.15 am on Wednesday, even as strong winds and heavy tides saw seawater ingress in many coastal towns and villages in Odisha and West Bengal ahead of the landfall. At around 10.30 am it was 25 km south-southeast of Balasore.
Bhadrak and Balasore of Orissa are likely to be hit the most by the cyclone. West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts and Kolkata may witness a stormy weather with winds at 120 kmph.
Nearly 5.8 lakh people have been evacuated from the low-lying areas of Orissa. All COVID facilities have been restored with essentials in vulnerable regions, informed Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena. West Bengal evacuated 11.5 lakh people from places alongside the coast. All flights bound from 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 until Saturday. Eastern Naval Command Headquarters is activated to coordinate with Navy INS Chilka. Army has deployed 17 columns in Bengal, nine in Kolkata and rest in other districts. While 3 columns and an engineer task force are deployed in Orissa.
The storm is expected to cause much more destruction than Amphan that devastated the state of Bengal irreparably.
Read More: Odisha and West Bengal Brace for Cyclone YAAS; Indian Navy Teams Deployed in West Bengal
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