Crores displaced, lakh of houses damaged as cyclone Yaas batters east coast

Cyclone Yaas, which made landfall near Odisha’s Balasore around 9 AM today, battered the east coast, leaving crores of people displaced, lakhs of houses damaged and electricity supply lines snapped in the state and neighbouring West Bengal.

This is the second severe tropical storm to batter India in recent days. Last week, cyclone Tauktae had lashed Gujarat and Maharashtra on the west coast.

Cyclone Yaas completed the landfall process in West Bengal and Odisha around 1 PM, Pradeep K Jena, Odisha Special Relief Commissioner said, as per ANI reports.

Watch: 10 photos that show the trail of destruction left behind by cyclone Yaas

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a review meeting with District Magistrates, Disaster Management Committee, and other officials in view of Cyclone Yaas, in Nabanna, ANI reported. Banerjee also announced that she will visit areas affected by the cyclone and high tide in Purba Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas on Friday.

Watch: Cyclone Yaas lashes Odisha, West Bengal with wild waves, strong winds

“At least one crore people in Bengal affected by rough weather conditions, high tide arising out of Cyclone Yaas,” CM Mamata Banerjee said according to PTI reports.

“Three lakh houses have suffered damage in Bengal due to rough weather conditions arising out of cyclone Yaas. We have sent relief worth Rs 1 crore to areas affected by the cyclone and high tide,” she added.

The cyclone crossed north Odisha coast about 20 km south of Balasore from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph gusting to 155 kmph, IMD said according to ANI reports. It then moved northwestwards and lay centred at 11:30 AM over north coastal Odisha about 15 km south-southwest of Balasore.

Also read: Yaas, storm batters parts of West Bengal. Watch

Tidal waves of height 2-3 meters above astronomical tide are likely to inundate low-lying areas of Balasore, Bhadrak and about 2 meters above astronomical tide are likely to inundate low-lying areas of Medinipur, IMD tweeted.

Also read: Mamata Banerjee to monitor Cyclone Yaas situation overnight from control room

Flight operations in Bhubaneshwar’s Biju Patnaik
International Airport closed down will remain shut till 5 AM on Thursday, whereas Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International
Airport saw flight operations shut from 8:30 AM to 7:45 PM on Wednesday.