BHUBANESWAR: As the very severe cyclone Yaas will make a landfall around Balasore and is likely to cause extensive damage to north coastal districts of the State, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday deputed minister of state for home Dibyashankar Mishra to monitor the situation in the district.
The state government has launched a massive evacuation drive in Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Bhadrak districts which will bear the brunt of the cyclone.
Around 30,000 people have so far been evacuated to safer places from these districts. While more than 5100 people have been shifted to cyclone shelters from low lying areas of Jagatsinghpur district, nearly one lakh people have been identified to be evacuated in Bhadrak district from over 400 coast side villages.
The state government has also launched massive preparations for relief and restoration measures in the coastal districts. More than 50 NDRF, 60 ODRAF and 180 Fire Services teams have been deployed in the vulnerable areas of these districts for relief and restoration measures.
Meanwhile, the Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Yaas’ over the East-central Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards with a speed of about 10 kmph during past 6 hours and lay
centred at about 320 km south-southeast of Paradip, 430 km south-southeast of Balasore and 420 km south-southeast of Digha.
According to IMD forecast, it is very likely to move north-northwestwards, intensify further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during next 12 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts very close to Chandbali-Dhamra port by the early morning of Wednesday, May 26. It is very likely
to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Island around Balasore, during noon of Wednesday, May 26 as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm.