Heavy rains, broken houses, uprooted trees ... Cyclone 'Yas' caused major devastation in Odisha, Bengal

Balasore / Digha / Ranchi. Cyclone Yaas weakened Wednesday's cyclone after hitting the beaches in North Odisha and neighboring West Bengal with winds at speeds of 130–145 kmph. The low-lying areas in these two eastern states were flooded due to the storm. Officials gave this information. He said the cyclone hit the coast north of Dhamra in Bhadrak district of Odisha and 50 km from Balasore near Bahnaga block at around 9 am. He said that the process of reaching the cyclone was completed at 1.30 pm.

DG of the Meteorological Department, Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that Andaman-Nicobar islands, Odisha and West Bengal have been the worst affected due to YAS. In Jharkhand, its effect will be till today and tomorrow. Odisha has recorded the highest rainfall. 2-4 meter high sea waves have been observed in North Odisha and many districts of West Bengal near it. Mohapatra said heavy rains have been recorded due to the Yas cyclone. Midnapore, Balasore and Bhadrak districts are forecast to increase by 2-4 meters. A 3-4 meter high storm is predicted starting from Diu in the Gulf of Khambhat. Toute's track length was 1800 km while Cyclone Yas has a track length of 1000 km.

Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said that seawater entered Bahanaga and Remuna blocks of Balasore district and several villages in Dhamra and Basudevpur in Bhadrak district. He said that the administration is taking steps to extract water from the villages with the help of local people. Jena said that due to heavy rains in the Simlipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district, there is a possibility of sudden flood in the Budhabalang river. In the afternoon, the river's water level was 21 meters against the danger level of 27 meters. He said that Mayurbhanj district administration has started evacuating some areas located on either side of the river and some low-lying areas of Baripada town.

Line repair work started

After cutting the wires, Jena said that the work of repairing power lines has started in some places in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur districts. He said that there has not been much loss in these districts. Sources said that in Panchupalli village of Anadapur block of Kenozhar district, one person died after falling from a tree, but there has been no official confirmation of the death. The young man has been identified as a full lunar hero.

Jena said that a person was injured in a fall in Balasore district. He told that by evening the wind speed will slow down and by midnight the cyclone will move from Odisha towards Jharkhand.

5.8 lakh people have been evacuated from sensitive areas of Odisha to safe places and 15 lakh people have been taken to the shelters in West Bengal.

Ten million people affected

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that one crore people have been affected by the cyclone in the state. He said that three lakh houses were damaged due to the cyclone. He claimed that the state has been affected the most due to the cyclone.

The Chief Minister said, "At least one crore people in Bengal have been affected by this natural disaster. Three lakh houses have been damaged so far. One person died accidentally. "He said relief material worth Rs 10 crore has been sent to the affected areas."

A defense official said that Digha in East Midnapore, which shares a border with Odisha's Balasore district, has been completely submerged and the army has been called in for rescue and relief operations.

The defense officer said that the army has deployed 17 columns in West Bengal to help the state administration. He said that relief and rescue operations are also being carried out by the army at Orphuli in Howrah district.

Banerjee appealed to the people of the state to stay indoors especially in East Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, West Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia and Nadia.

The Chief Minister said, "Almost the entire West Bengal is flooded. Several embankments have broken and sea water has penetrated into areas like Sagar and Gosaba of South 24 Parganas and coastal areas like Mandaramani, Digha and Shankarpur in East Midnapore. Extensive damage has been done to the low-lying areas. "

Force working to reach safe places

Officials said that the army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the state police are working 24 hours to evacuate people to safer places. He said that there is news of water filling in some low-lying areas of Kolkata.

The Met Office has predicted heavy rains in East and West Midnapore districts and very heavy rainfall in Jhargram, Bankura, South 24 Parganas districts in the next 24 hours.

The office said that 'Yas' will cause heavy rains at isolated places in Purulia, Nadia, Murshidabad, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

Officials in Ranchi said that due to the possibility of a midnight cyclone in Jharkhand, vigilance is already being done. The low lying areas of the state are being evacuated.

Disaster Management Secretary Amitabh Kaushal told PTI-language that in view of 'Yas', a war-footing operation is being carried out in sensitive areas of East and West Singhbhum besides some other districts.

The Met Office said that East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela of the state