Cyclone Yaas pounded the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal as it hit the coast around 9 am on Wednesday with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph, inundating the low-lying areas amid a storm surge, officials said.
The location of the landfall was north of Dhamra in Odisha's Bhadrak district and 50 km south of Balasore, close to Bahanaga block, on the coast, they said.
The wind speed during landfall was at 130-140 kmph, gusting to 155 kmph, as per Doppler radar data.
As per the SDMA release, squally wind speed reaching 50-60 km per hour, gusting to 70 km per hour, would prevail over Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Vishakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh till May 26 noon. It has also advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea. "The fishermen are advised not to venture into the central Bay of Bengal till May 26 afternoon and into the north Bay of Bengal and along and off north Odisha-West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts till May 27 morning," the SDMA said.
Jharkhand, which was put on high alert, continued evacuating low-lying areas on Wednesday amid the forecast that cyclone Yaas would be hitting the state by midnight after pounding neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal, officials said. Operations are being executed on war-footing in the vulnerable areas in East and West Singhbhum.
#CycloneYaas has complete the process of landfall. Rainfall will continue till tomorrow. Fishermen are advised not to venture till tomorrow morning because the sea condition going to be rough: Umashankar Das, Senior Scientist, Meteorological Centre Bhubaneswar pic.twitter.com/tC3y9uHDIH
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday cancelled six flights between Mumbai to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata due to Cyclone Yaas. It further said the flights to other regions will continue to operate as per schedule, the airport spokesperson said.
Odisha: Fishing boats at Paradeep jetty damaged due to #CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/043MQfsBBE
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
Odisha: Fishing boats at Paradeep jetty damaged due to #CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/043MQfsBBE
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
VSCS ‘YAAS’ CROSSED NORTH ODISHA COAST ABOUT 20 KM SOUTH OF BALASORE DURING 1030 TO 1130 HOURS IST OF TODAY WITH ESTIMATED WIND SPEED OF 130-140 KMPH GUSTING TO 155 KMPH.THEN MOVED NW-WARDS AND AT 1130 HRS IST,CENTRED NEAR 21.4°N/86.9°E ,ABOUT 15 KM SSW OF BALASORE. pic.twitter.com/mVfI55lg1l
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 26, 2021
We've established dedicated round-the-clock control rooms. All trains have been canceled. Sufficient storage of oxygen has been done for Covid patients. We've also positioned our diesel locomotives in case of overhead wiring failure. Manoj Joshi, GM, Eastern Railway#CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/95z6jrZKFs
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
In light of the developments around Cyclone Yaas in the Bay of Bengal, the airport witnessed cancellation of flights between Mumbai to Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, CSMIA said.
Approximately six flights, three arrivals and departures each, have been cancelled so far, it said.
Cyclone Yaas pounded the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal as it hit the coast around 9 am on Wednesday with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph, inundating the low-lying areas amid a storm surge, officials said. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)
#CycloneYaas is crossing Odisha border, south of Balasore. It'll reach Jharkhand tomorrow morning. It caused heavy to extremely heavy rain in Odisha in past 24 hrs. North Odisha & coastal Odisha expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy rain today: IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra pic.twitter.com/qaCjzdlU2I
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
To provide immediate support to people in emerging situation due to #CycloneYaas, briefing, joint recce, liaison & coordination with WB govt has been completed. Rescue and Relief columns are pre-positioned across areas expected to be affected for immediate response: Indian Army pic.twitter.com/85DudQWgrW
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
#CycloneYaas | Latest observations at 10.30am shows that the system is now crossing coast to the south of #Balasore in #Odisha. Landfall process will take another two hours: @Indiametdept @NewIndianXpress @XpressOdisha pic.twitter.com/vgRGLlhDhj
— Sudarsan Maharana (@Sud_TNIE) May 26, 2021
The evacuation launched by the state government continued late into the night even as several areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts were inundated due to heavy rainfall and storm surge up to four feet. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)
Odisha Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena has said that the tail end of Cyclone Yaas will complete landfall by 1 pm. He said
#WATCH | West Bengal: Water from the sea enters residential areas along New Digha Sea Beach in East Midnapore.
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Yaas centred about 50 km South-Southeast of Balasore (Odisha). Landfall process has commenced around 9 am, says IMD. #CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/8m667Py8Ec
INS Chilka at Khurda has stepped up and made all necessary arrangements, to coordinate the rescue and relief operations in close liaison with State Government agencies with the support of Headquarters Eastern Naval Command Visakhapatnam, informed an official release by Indian Navy.
VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM YAAS CENTRED ABOUT 50 KM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BALASORE.LANDFALL PROCESS HAS COMMENCED AROUND 0900 HRS IST. pic.twitter.com/esPuoaECL0
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 26, 2021
A week after Cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc in several states, the country is now bracing for second cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal and the credit for the cyclogenesis can be given to exceptionally warmer Indian seas this year, making atmospheric and ocean conditions favourable for frequent formation of cyclones and their rapid intensification, says experts. (READ FULL REPORT)
The very severe cyclonic storm Yaas which has closed in onto the Odisha coast is likely to make landfall to the north of Dhamra and south of Balasore at about 10 am on Wednesday. The maximum sustained wind speed in the affected region would be 130-140 km, India’s national forecaster said. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)