Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, said that she will spend the night at the state secretariat to oversee the relief and rescue efforts in the wake of Cyclone Yaas, which is expected to make landfall on the Odisha coast Wednesday morning with gusts of up to 185 km/h.

Also Read | Cyclone Yaas to make landfall near Odisha’s Dhamra port | 10 updates

She conducted a visit to the control centre set up for Cyclone Yaas in Kolkata to inspect the preparations put in place.

Banerjee said that 54,000 officers and rescue staff, 2 lakh police and Home Guard forces, as well as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, would be deployed to deal with the cyclone’s aftermath, which could seriously affect many parts of Bengal.

“I have spoken to all the district magistrates on Cyclone Yaas. I will stay in Nabanna (the state secretariat) tonight. I will monitor the situation closely,” ANI quoted her as saying.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that Cyclone Yaas will hit land along Odisha’s Dhamra Port at about 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the weather office, the cyclone will escalate into a very strong cyclonic storm Wednesday morning, inflicting destructive winds of 155 km/h to 165 km/h, gusting to 185 km/h, along and off Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts in Odisha and East Midnapore district in West Bengal.

Also Read | Cyclone Yaas escalates into a very severe cyclonic storm: IMD

Winds of 90 km/h to 100 km/h are possible in Bengal’s North and South 24 Parganas districts, with gusts up to 120 km/h. Several other towns, including Kolkata, Howrah, and Hooghly, may also be affected by the devastation.

Rainfall ranging from moderate to heavy is forecast for many districts across the state.

She warned that low-lying areas could be flooded and said the Army would be deployed wherever it was needed.

Rapid winds, according to the weather office, will wreck homes, crack or demolish electric poles, and interrupt railway services in Bengal’s coastal and adjacent inland districts.

Also Read | Cyclone Yaas likely to make landfall on May 26: What we know so far

Banerjee had previously stated that the effects of Cyclone Yaas will be worse than that of Cyclone Amphan, which wreaked havoc in the state last year.

“From (Cyclone) Amphan, we’ve learned our lessons,” she said.

On Tuesday, Banerjee — following a meeting of Home Minister Amit Shah with chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bengal, and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands — said her state, which is more densely populated, was facing “repeated discrimination”.

Also Read | Explained: How are cyclones named?

She said that Shah had promised to extend full cooperation, but when it came to announcing advance funds for the states, Bengal got less.