Cyclone Yaas leaves a trail of devastation in Jharkhand, Odisha and Bengal and the UN says they will support rescue efforts in affected areas
This is the first time Jharkhand is devastated by a cyclone and 8 lakh people were affected due to Cyclone Yaas in the state. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the world body and its agencies are available to assist the rescue efforts if state authorities request it.
The India Meteorological Department said that Cyclone Yaas is hovering over south Jharkhand. The storm is anticipated to move northwards and weaken gradually into a depression in the next six hours, according to the IMD.
One person was killed due to lightning in Bokaro, according to officials, and Cyclone Yaas, packing winds of up to 140 kmph, made landfall in Odisha’s Balasore district on Wednesday. The storm lost its force as it drove inland over Jharkhand.
Cyclone Yaas may have weakened into a deep depression, but it unleashed extensive rain and wreaked ruins in Jharkhand. State government officials said on Thursday that eight lakh people have been affected by the cyclone and the water level in several rivers, including Kharkhai and Subarnarekha, is above the danger mark.
Around 15,000 people have been evacuated and relocated to safety in Jharkhand, officials said, adding that rescue operations are still underway in a few districts.
“We have issued alerts for ‘extremely heavy rainfall’ in certain areas,” said RK Jenamani, a senior scientist of IMD.
East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Suraj Kumar said trees fell like ninepins in many areas, and gale-strength winds snapped cables, causing power disruption. As many as 500 teams are carrying out relief operations across Jharkhand.
Cyclone Yaas whisked up tidal waves in West Bengal and Bangladesh even though they were not directly in its path.
Odisha shifted 6.5 lakh, people, to safer places and West Bengal 15 lakh people ahead of the cyclone’s landfall. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik ordered health screening of all the 6.5 lakh people taken to the cyclone shelters, including Covid-19 tests if required.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said relief materials worth ₹10 crores have been sent to the affected areas.
Authorities in Bangladesh reported flooding of villages due to heavy rains and tidal surges. Three people were dead, two by drowning, and a third who was hit by a tree, an official at the Disaster Management Agency said. According to IMD, the storm is likely to move northwards and weaken gradually into a depression in the next six hours.
Yaas is the second cyclonic storm to hit India within a week after ‘Tauktae’ ripped into its western coast, causing death and destruction.
In West Bengal, the coastal areas in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas were flooded owing to the cyclonic surge. The maximum wind speed in the coastal resort town of Digha in East Midnapore reached around 90 km per hour.
Jharkhand remains on high alert while the weather around the states is rainy and cold.