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Yaas weakens after hitting Odisha-Bengal coasts

Now, officials are taking relief measures in affected villages

image for illustrative purpose

Yaas, which was earlier classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, hit the coast north of Dhamra in Odisha’s Bhadrak district and 50 km south of Balasore, close to Bahanaga block, around 9 am
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26 May 2021 11:02 PM IST

Balasore/Digha/Ranchi Yaas weakened into a severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday afternoon after pounding the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal with a wind speed of 130-145 kmph, inundating the low-lying areas amid a storm surge even as the two eastern States battled the Covid crisis, officials said.

Yaas, which was earlier classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, hit the coast north of Dhamra in Odisha's Bhadrak district and 50 km south of Balasore, close to Bahanaga block, around 9 am, they said. The landfall process was over around 1.30 pm, they added. Seawater entered several villages in Bahanaga and Remuna blocks in the Balasore district, and Dhamra and Basudevpur in the Bhadrak district, Odisha's special relief commissioner PK Jena said. The administration with the help of the locals is taking measures to drain out the saline water from the villages, he said.

Heavy rainfall in the Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district sparked fears of a flash flood in the Budhabalang river. In the afternoon, the water level in the river was at 21 metre against the danger level of 27 metre, Jena said. The Mayurbhanj district administration has started evacuating certain vulnerable points on both sides of the river and also from some low-lying areas in the Baripada town, he said.

Restoration works for power lines have started in some places in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur district after cables were snapped, Jena said, adding that not much damage was caused in these districts. Local sources said that a person was killed in Panchupalli village in Anadapur block of Kenojhar district after a tree fell on him but there was no official confirmation of the death. The man was identified as Purna Chandra Nayak. Besides, a man was injured in the Balasore district after he was hit by a falling tree, Jena said. The sea will remain rough till Thursday and the accompanying rain will continue, he said.

The wind will slow down by the evening and the cyclone is likely to leave Odisha for Jharkhand by midnight, Jena said. Odisha shifted 5.8 lakh people to safer places, while West Bengal moved 15 lakh people ahead of the cyclone, amid concerns over following Covid-19 norms at the temporary shelters as the two States battled the pandemic, reporting thousands of new cases daily.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that one crore people were affected by the cyclone in the State. Three lakh houses were damaged due to the cyclone, she said. She claimed that West Bengal was the most affected State due to the cyclone. "At least one crore people in Bengal have been affected by this natural disaster. As of now, three lakh houses have been damaged. One person died an accidental death even after he was rescued," the chief minister said. Relief materials worth Rs 10 crore were sent to the affected areas, she said.

Yaas Odisha-Bengal coasts 
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