Cyclone Yaas intensifies into very severe cyclonic storm, IMD issues red-coded warning alert to Odisha, Bengal
Shifting of over 10 lakh people from low lying and coastal areas to 12,000 relief camps in West Bengal and Odisha may aggravate the Covid situation in the coming days.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday more than 74,000 officers and staff are working to fight the cyclone Yaas that is likely to make a landfall on Wednesday morning between Paradeep in Odisha and Ganga Sagar Islands in Bengal.
Meanwhile, cyclone Yaas intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday evening, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General M Mohapatra said. The IMD has issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
Hundreds of vaccination centres have been closed temporarily as a precautionary measure. The authorities are working to ensure the supply of oxygen and medicines to hospitals during the storm.
“I have spoken to all the DMs… they have been put on high alert. A control room has been set up in every block,” Mamata said, adding she would “Stay at Nabanna tonight. I will monitor the situation closely.”
Experts said evacuation of 10 lakh people from coastal areas to relief camps in the absence of Covid protocol may worsen the situation in the two States.
The timing of the storm poses several challenges for already stressed authorities in the country, which is battling a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the past few weeks, cases in rural and coastal areas of Bengal have surged due to inadequate testing, lack of testing facilities and large gathering due to the recently concluded elections in the state.
As per the NDRF data, over 8 lakh people shifted to relief camps in Bengal. Of them, around 2.96 lakh people shifted in West Mednapore, 1.10 lakh in East Midnapore, 2.58 lakh in South 24 Parganas, 51,551 in North 24 Parganas, 45,212 in Bankura, 17,190 in Howrah, 14,000 in Purulia and 13,000 in Jhargram. Mednapore, South and North 24 Parganas, Bankura are epicenter of Covid in the State.
West Bengal has reported 17,005 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of active cases to 1,26,376. North 24 Parganas reported 3,452 cases, South 24 Paraganas 1,202 cases, Howrah 1,164 cases, East Mednapore 893 cases and West Mednapore 643 cases in the last 24 hours.
In Odisha, over 2.10 lakh people residing in kutcha houses in low-lying areas have been moved to cyclone shelters. The highest number of evacuees are from Balasore district (74,132), followed by Bhadrak (73,103). The Covid cases have surged in these districts in the past few days.
Evacuation of people is also underway in Cuttack, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khurda, Jagastinghpur, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Puri andAngul districts. Around 5,000 pregnant women expecting delivery by June 1 have been admitted to hospitals, a health official said. Odisha has reported 10,939 cases in the last 24 hours, taking a total tally of active cases to 1,10,554.
The infections have strained India’s health system and overwhelmed crematoriums and hospitals. They have also spread to rural areas, where about 70 per cent of the nation’s 1.3 billion people live.
Yaas, equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, will cause heavy rains in the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha, with wind speeds as high as 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department. Sea levels may increase 4 meters above regular tides and inundate low-lying areas, it said.
The storm is likely to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Odisha’s Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning. IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that wind speed in Odisha’s Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts will reach around 80 kmph by midnight.
The latest storm follows a severe cyclone that hit the west coast last week -- the worst in over two decades in the western State of Gujarat -- killing dozens after a barge sank in the sea. The eastern region was hit by a cyclone in May 2020 with similar wind speeds, while another one in 2019 prompted authorities to evacuate millions of people.