Over 11 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in Orissa and West Bengal as cyclonic storm Yaas approaches the coast and is expected to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning.
While West Bengal has evacuated over nine lakh people to safe shelters, the Odisha government, on the other hand, said it has moved over 2 lakh people from vulnerable areas in coastal districts to safety.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has also asked Collectors of three north coastal districts –Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulamto– to be on a high alert.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the storm is likely to intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” in the next six hours.
IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclone’s impact will be severe for six hours before and after the landfall and Chandbali will witness the maximum damage.
As per the latest update by the MeT department, the storm is about 200 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 290 km south-southeast of Balasore (Odisha), 290 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and 280 km south of Sagar Islands (West Bengal).
Surjitt Sahani
