Cyclone Yaas HIGHLIGHTS: Effect Of Storm Intensifies In Bihar, Patna Airport Shuts Operations Till 9 AM Tomorrow
Cyclonic Yaas, May 27, Thursday, HIGHLIGHTS: The severe cyclonic storm, Yaas weakened into a deep depression, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. It will continue to move northwestwards and weaken gradually into a depression during the next 12 hours, it also said in its bulletin on Twitter.
The effect of Cyclone Yaas was visible in several districts of Bihar on Thursday and will continue till Friday. Heavy rainfall, with strong winds having speed of 30 to 40 kmph, is currently underway in south, southeast and central districts of Bihar and is expected to intensify from Thursday night till Friday. Rain with thunderstorm and lightning are expected in these two days.
The most affected districts are Gaya, Auranganad, Lakhisarai, Shaikehpura, Nawada, Banka, Bhagalpur, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Bhojpur, and Buxar. Besides, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, Madhepura, Muzaffarpur and Saharsa are also impacted.
In view of the bad weather conditions due to Cyclone Yaas in Bihar, flight operations at Patna Airport have been suspended till 9 am on Friday: Airport authorities
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that she would be holding a review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the cyclone-led devastation, during his visit to the state.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming here after conducting a survey of cyclone-affected areas in Odisha. He will reach Kalaikunda via Digha, and take his flight to Delhi from there. The PM will hold a review meeting with me at Kalaikunda," Banerjee told reporters at the secretariat.
At least eight lakh people in Jharkhand have been affected by Cyclone 'Yaas', which barrelled through the state early on Thursday, unleashing copious rain that lashed parts of the state, including Ranchi, and throwing life out of gear in many areas.
Around 15,000 people have been evacuated and moved to safety, and rescue operations are still underway in East Singhbhum district among other places, as water level in several rivers, including Kharkhai and Subarnarekha, continues to flow above the danger mark.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha and West Bengal on Friday to review the impact of cyclone Yaas on the two coastal states.
Government sources said Modi will first hold a review meeting in Bhubaneswar and then proceed for an aerial survey in the affected areas of Balasore, Bhadrak and Purba Medinipur.
Airport resumed normal flight operations today morning while Rourkela Airport will remain closed today. Cyclone Yaas now became a depression and is moving through Jharkhand towards Bihar: Airports Authority of India
Deep Depression over south Jharkhand & neighborhood moved nearly northwards with a speed of about 5 kmph during past 6 hrs & lay centred at 0830 hrs today over south Jharkhand & neighbourhood about 70km west-northwest of Jamshedpur & 65 km southeast of Ranchi (Jharkhand): IMD
The office of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik commended the efforts made my local police, NDRF and ODRAF personnel to rescue vulnerable people, remove fallen trees and restore road communication following the devastation caused by Cyclone 'Yaas'.
As Tropical Cyclone Yaas ravaged parts of India's eastern coast, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the world body and its agencies stand ready to support the response efforts if state authorities request it, while expressing concern that lack of social distancing in emergency shelters and temporary suspension of vaccination campaigns amid the COVID-19 pandemic could further complicate the health crisis.
"From South Asia, which is being impacted currently by Tropical Cyclone Yaas, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that we have activated cyclone preparedness measures and prepositioned stocks of food and other items, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing on Wednesday.
The cyclone reached the Indian state of Odisha yesterday, with millions of people being evacuated by the Government ahead of the storm. UN agencies and our partners in India stand ready to support the response efforts if State authorities request it, he said.
UN humanitarian colleagues in Nepal say the country could also experience heavy rainfall with floods and landslides over the coming hours, Dujarric said, adding that in Bangladesh, "our colleagues say the cyclone has not impacted Cox's Bazar, but they are closely monitoring the situation due to the possibility of storm surges and embankment collapse in border areas." Cox's Bazar is home to the world's largest refugee camp, with nearly a million Rohingya migrants residing at the enclosures in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas.
Jharkhand | We have made 201 relief camps & evacuated 596 people. Evacuation is underway. One NDRF team is placed in Kumardungi. CycloneYaas will pass from Kumardungi, Manjhari, Chakradharpur & Chaibasa. Our all blocks are on red alert: District Collector, West Singhbhum
Thunderstorm with lightning & gusty wind speed 30-40 kmph & light to moderate rainfall likely to affect over some parts of Howrah, Hooghly North & South 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Murshidabad dists of West Bengal during next 1-3 hrs from 0830 hrs today: Regional Meteorological Centre
As severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' enters Jharkhand, the state remains on high alert and has evacuated about 12,000 people to safer zones while operations are still on to minimise damage from the cyclone that pounded neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal, officials said Wednesday.
The state has imposed a complete lockdown in some parts to prevent people from venturing out in view of the storm while as many as eight lakh people have already been impacted by it.
Operations are being executed on a war-footing in the vulnerable areas in East and West Singhbhum, besides some other districts due to cyclonic storm Yaas, Disaster Management Secretary Amitabh Kaushal said.
Kaushal said at least eight lakh people are impacted by it in Simdega, East and West Singhbhums and Saraikela-Kharsawan districts.
"We have evacuated 10,767 persons to 310 shelter homes sites and the evacuation operations are on. A total of 848 of our villages are impacted by it. We are doing our best to prevent any casualty," East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Suraj Kumar said.
Kumar said the district is witnessing heavy rainfall, high speed winds and there has been damage to the power transmission network besides trees have been uprooted.
"We have announced a complete lockdown today and tomorrow barring some relaxation for emergency cases and essential services," the East Singhbhum DC said adding a flood cell has been created and people are being evacuated from low lying areas of Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers.
National Disaster Response Force teams are alert for rescue operations while 500 relief teams are already working.
Thunderstorm with lightning and light to moderate rainfall likely to affect parts of Kolkata, East and West Midnapore districts of WestBengal during next 1-2 hours from 0555 hours today: Regional Meteorological Centre.
At least five were killed as the severe cyclone storm, Yaas battered the eastern coast on May 26. The storm packed lashing rain and winds gusting up to 155 kilometres (96 miles) an hour, the equivalent to a category two hurricane.
In West Bengal, authorities said that around 1,100 villages had been flooded by storm surges, leaving at least 50,000 homeless, news agency Reuters reported.
In the neighbouring Odisha, around 120 villages were swamped by heavy rain and sea water whipped up by the cyclone but people in most areas had already been moved to storm shelters.
Background
Cyclonic Yaas, May 27, Thursday, HIGHLIGHTS: After wreaking havoc in West Bengal and Odisha, the severe cyclonic storm, Yaas weakened into a deep depression, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. It will continue to move northwestwards and weaken gradually into a depression during the next 12 hours, it also said in its bulletin on Twitter.
Over 10 lakh people have been relocated to storm shelters in Odisha and West Bengal. While other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar islands have also put a contingency plan in action, it is Odisha that was the centre of the devastating storm. In terms of severity, it may be slightly lower than Cyclone Tauktae, but the IMD says that it will take at least another 24 hours before Cyclone Yaas degenerates. NDRF has deployed teams in the states with the armed forces also on standby.
Jharkhand remains on high alert and has evacuated over 10,000 people to safer zones. The state has imposed complete lockdown in some parts to prevent people from venturing out in view of the prediction of the severe cyclonic storm battering the state. Cyclone Yaas, packing winds of up to 130-145 kmph, whiplashed the country's eastern coasts on Wednesday, dumping heavy rain, damaging houses and farmlands, and leaving at least four persons dead - three in Odisha and one in Bengal.
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