Yaas weakened into a severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday afternoon after pounding the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal with a wind speed of 130-145 kmph, inundating the low-lying areas amid a storm surge even as the two eastern states battled the COVID-19 crisis, officials said.
Yaas, which was earlier classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, hit the coast north of Dhamra in Odisha’s Bhadrak district and 50 km south of Balasore, close to Bahanaga block, around 9 am, they said.
The landfall process was over around 1.30 pm, they added.
Seawater entered several villages in Bahanaga and Remuna blocks in the Balasore district, and Dhamra and Basudevpur in the Bhadrak district, Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said.
The administration with the help of the locals is taking measures to drain out the saline water from the villages, he said.
Heavy rainfall in the Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district sparked fears of a flash flood in the Budhabalang river. In the afternoon, the water level in the river was at 21 metre against the danger level of 27 metre, Jena said.
The Mayurbhanj district administration has started evacuating certain vulnerable points on both sides of the river and also from some low-lying areas in the Baripada town, he said.
Restoration works for power lines have started in some places in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur district after cables were snapped, Jena said, adding that not much damage was caused in these districts.
Local sources said that a person was killed in Panchupalli village in Anadapur block of Kenojhar district after a tree fell on him but there was no official confirmation of the death. The man was identified as Purna Chandra Nayak.
Besides, a man was injured in the Balasore district after he was hit by a falling tree, Jena said.
The sea will remain rough till Thursday and the accompanying rain will continue, he said.
Surjitt Sahani
