Thousands moved to safer areas ahead of cyclone | Economic Times

Thousands of people in coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal have been moved to safer places as a roaring cyclone in the Bay of Bengal moves closer to landfall on Wednesday afternoon.As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Yaas will make landfall near Dhamra in Odisha around noon on May 26, with wind speeds of 145-165 kmph, gusting to 185 kmph. It will pass West Bengal and reach Jharkhand on May 27, causing heavy rainfall.At 9 pm on Tuesday, the cyclone was 160 km east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 250 km south-southeast of Balasore, according to IMD. “Early morning on May 26 it will lay close to Dhamra near Balasore and in the afternoon it will make landfall in south of Balasore and north of Dhamra,” IMD director (east zone) Sanjib Bandhopadhyay said in Kolkata on Tuesday. Meanwhile, heavy to very heavy rainfall has started in Dhamra.The cyclone will move in the north-westerly direction and transform into a very severe cyclonic storm. The maximum effect of the cyclone will be felt in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, Bandhopadhyay said. “In Kolkata, the wind speed will be around 65-75 kmph with heavy rainfall. The impact will not be like Cyclone Amphan, as Kolkata is 200 km away from Balasore,” Bandhopadhyay added.West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters on Tuesday that almost 1,100,000 people have been evacuated from coastal areas and shifted to safer places. Odisha’s chief minister Naveen Patnaik said 250,000 people from the coastal areas have been evacuated.The IMD, issuing a red alert for East Midnapore, said the wind speed in the district would gradually increase to 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph from the early hours of May 26. It will increase to 90-120 kmph, gusting to 145 kmph over northwest Bay of Bengal along and off East Medinipur district at the time of landfall, it said.The storm surge will be noticed in East Midnapore, with waves 2-4 m above the astronomical tidal-level height. The port has been asked to hoist signals, IMD sources said.