PARADIP: Paradip Port Trust (PPT) suspended its operations from 2 pm on Tuesday as part of safety measures in view of the impending severe cyclone 'Yaas', which is likely to cross Odisha coast on May 26, an official said.
At least 12 vessels proceeded down to the deep sea so as to avoid the path of the storm, he said, adding that all the trucks, dumpers and large cargo handling equipment in the port area will be taken to a safe zone.
"The authorities have been in coordination with the Odisha government and the Jagatsinghpur district administration to take all the precautionary measures," Paradip Port Trust Chairman Vinit Kumar told reporters.
Severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' is likely to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
State Higher Education Secretary Saswat Mishra has arrived here to review the local administration's preparedness for the cyclonic storm as the government has set a "zero casualty" target.
The Jagatsinghpur district administration has been making arrangements for evacuating people living near the coastal areas to cyclone shelters.
"Over 10,000 people have been evacuated in Jagatsinghpur till 10 am on Tuesday," an official of the local administration said.
Inspector-General of Police (Operations) Amitabh Thakur and Jagatsinghpur SP Prakash R reached the Paradip Police Station to review the situation and held talks with personnel of National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force.
Kumar said the port authorities have provided food and drinking water to cyclone shelters in the district.
Dr Umashankar Das, a scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said that the landfall will most likely be between Dhamra and Chandbali in the district.
IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that 'Yaas' is likely to intensify into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) by Tuesday evening and Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage caused by it.
"Rain has already started and will continue. Wind speeds in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts will reach around 80 kmph by midnight," he said.
He said the impact will be severe for six hours before and after the landfall.
"Big trees and electric poles may get uprooted. Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage due to the cyclone," Mohapatra said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has rushed Odisha's Minister of State for Home, D S Mishra to Balasore to monitor the situation in the northern parts of the state.
Official sources said that the evacuation process is underway in full swing in the coastal districts and over 50,000 people have been taken to safe shelters till noon.
The process will be completed by afternoon, much before 'Yaas' nears the coast, they said.
The evacuation of people is being carried out keeping in view the IMD's warning of a tidal surge of around 2-4.5 metres during the landfall.
'Yaas' is likely to move north-northwestwards and intensify further into a VSCS during the next 12 hours, the IMD said in its latest bulletin issued at 9.10 am on Tuesday.
The system has been moving north-northwestwards at a speed of 10 kmph during the past six hours.
It lays centred around 320 km south-southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 430 km south-southeast of Balasore (Odisha) and 420 km south- southeast of Digha (West Bengal) at 5.30 am, it said.
Squally wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph are prevailing over north Bay of Bengal and along and off Andhra Pradesh-Odisha-West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts, the weatherman said.
Wind speeds will increase to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph over northwest Bay of Bengal and along and off north Odisha and adjoining West Bengal coasts including Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore districts of Odisha during landfall, it said.
In Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and West Bengal's Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts, wind speeds may increase to 100-120 kmph gusting to 145 kmph.
Wind speeds reaching 80-90 kmph gusting to 110 kmph will prevail over Odisha's Puri, Cuttack, Khurda and Jajpur districts and West Bengal's Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur and North 24 Parganas districts during the period.
The system is likely to cause heavy rain over large parts of West Bengal and Odisha on Tuesday and Wednesday.
'Yaas' is also expected to cause a storm surge of 2-4 metres along the coastline of Purba Medinipur and 1-2 metres in South 24 Parganas.
The weatherman advised fishermen against venturing out into the sea till further information.
It warned of destruction to thatched houses, extensive damage to kutcha dwellings and some damage to pucca buildings in coastal and adjoining interior districts of West Bengal.
The MeT Department also warned of bending or uprooting of electric poles and disruption of railway services due to snapping of power lines and signalling systems.
The South Eastern Railways has announced the cancellation of several passenger special trains till Wednesday.
The Integrated Test Range of DRDO has taken various measures to protect its facilities at Chandipur and Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, which are likely to be affected by cyclone 'Yaas', an official said on Tuesday.
A scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar earlier in the day said that landfall will most likely be between Dhamra and Chandbali in Bhadrak district.
The ITR of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has three missile launch pads at Chandipur and one launch complex at Abdul Kalam Island, besides two separate mission control rooms and block houses.
The island, known for its strategic location for test-launching of all long-range missiles, is 80 nautical miles (110 km) from the ITR, and more likely to be impacted by the cyclone, the official said.
The control room and block house, however, have been designed to withstand wind speeds up to 400 km, sources said.
"We have prepared for the very severe cyclonic storm, and are implementing the standard operating procedures prepared by DRDO. We are ready to face any eventuality," Milan Kumar Pal, the spokesperson of the ITR facility, told PTI.
While the safety of critical installations has been ensured, vital equipment are stored inside laboratories, he said.
The DRDO had launched the missile testing facility in 1982 as a project under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Since the 1999 super cyclone, the testing range has withstood over a dozen similar storms, including 'Amphan' and 'Bubul' in the recent past.