Yaas impact in Bengal: CM to monitor from Nabanna control room all night, 9 lakh evacuated

With Cyclone Yaas scheduled to make landfall along the West Bengal coast between Wednesday morning and afternoon, state chief minister Mamata Banerjee will monitor the situation across the state from the control room at the state administrative headquarters Nabanna all night long from Tuesday.

Banerjee assured people that the situation is being monitored by experts and the crisis would be over soon. She said that already nine lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to shelters in the most vulnerable regions of the state. While 21 districts in Bengal are likely to be affected by the “very severe cyclone”, the most vulnerable areas are South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Howrah and North 24 Parganas. Kolkata is also expected to feel the impact of Cyclone Yaas.

It is likely to have wind speed ranging from 155 to 165 km per hour. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the military and the Coast Guard are gearing up along with civic police, police and disaster management personnel. Civic authorities in Kolkata and in the other districts have also been kept ready to help rehabilitate and rescue people.

Apart from the impact of the cyclone that involves gusts, heavy rainfall is also predicted across the state, including north Bengal. Tide conditions added to the cyclone means the likely impact will be more severe.