As Tauktae Dissipates, Powerful Cyclone Yaas Brews Over India, Bengal And Odisha On Alert

According to the IMD, Yaas is likely to hit the West Bengal coast by May 26. The cyclone's formation is likely to commence by May 22.

West Bengal And Odisha CMs have alerted the officials as the cyclone Yaas is expected to be powerful

Kolkata: After cyclone Tauktae created havoc in the country, another low-pressure system is brewing over the Bay of Bengal and is set to intensify into a powerful cyclone. Eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal are likely to face the brunt of the upcoming storm next week, as the storm is expected to make landfall by May 26.

The IMD said, "As per the early forecasts, the low-pressure area is likely to develop over the east-central or central Bay of Bengal on Saturday, May 22. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also confirmed the possibility of its formation and has forecast intensification into a cyclone by May 26. The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in New Delhi issued warnings for Andaman and Nicobar as well as Odisha and West Bengal."

Once the system concentrates into a cyclone, it will be named ‘Yaas’, as per the naming guidelines set by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The name is as per the suggestion from Oman and means despair or desperation in Arabic.

"Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy falls at isolated places very likely to commence in the coastal districts of West Bengal from 25th May with a significant increase in spatial extension and intensity subsequently over the districts of Gangetic West Bengal," IMD added.

While the IMD has said that it would be too early to predict where the cyclone will make landfall, it is likely to move northwestwards and reach the West Bengal-Odisha coasts around Wednesday, May 26.

West Bengal and Odisha chief ministers of both took a stock of the preparedness ahead of the storm.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a high-level meeting on Thursday with senior state officials and officials of disaster management authority to review the preparations.

The Odisha government on Thursday also directed the concerned departments to take precautionary measures against cyclonic storm Yaas.