The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has put Cyclone Yaas under ‘very severe cyclone’ category.
The cyclone is expected to cross West Bengal and north Odisha coasts by the evening of May 26 with a wind speed of 155-165 kmph and gusting to 185 kmph.
Coastal districts of West Bengal and Odisha are likely to receive heavy rainfall with the IMD also warning of storm surge in coastal areas of the two states.
NDRF commits 75 teams for the rescue operation
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has committed a total of 75 teams for the rescue operation.
Out of 75 teams, 59 will be deployed on the ground, and 16 will be placed on standby, said Satya Narayan Pradhan, Director General, NDRF.
As many as 18 teams of the NDRF have been deployed in Odisha.
Seven teams have been deployed in Balasore, 4 in Bhadrak, 3 in Kendrapada, 2 in Jajpur, one each in Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj. Four teams have been kept as reserve, as per the NDRF, reported ANI.
In West Bengal, the NDRF teams are deployed in 11 districts.
An advisory has been issued for fishermen of West Bengal and Odisha not to venture into the sea from May 23 evening.
ICG, Navy ships & helicopters deployed for relief, search, rescue operations
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of states and central government agencies.
At the meeting, he further asked the officials to work in close coordination with states to ensure the safe evacuation of people from high-risk areas.
PM Modi also directed officials to minimize the time of outages of power, telephone networks.
Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard and Navy ships and helicopters have been deployed for relief, search, rescue operations.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is also reviewing the situation and is in touch with the state governments, union territories, and all the concerned central agencies.
