PM MODI TO REVIEW PREPARATIONS ON CYCLONE YAAS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting today at 11 am with representatives from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), secretaries from telecom, power, civil aviation, earth sciences ministries to review preparations against the approaching Cyclone Yaas. Home Minister Amit Shah will also be part of the meeting.
Cyclone Yaas which will intensify into a cyclonic storm on Monday is likely to impact West Bengal and Odisha. Cyclone Yaas will likely intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” and cross the Odisha and the West Bengal coasts on May 26, according to India Meteorological Department. A low-pressure area formed over the east-central Bay of Bengal is expected to strengthen into another strong cyclonic storm around May 26 and pass towards West Bengal and the adjoining north Odisha and Bangladesh coasts, according to the meteorological department.
This comes just days after Cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc on the western coast and took hundreds of lives at a barge off Mumbai, the worst in the Arabian Sea in over two decades.
Cyclone Yaas will likely intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” and cross the Odisha and the West Bengal coasts on May 26, according to India Meteorological Department.
On Saturday, the Indian Navy put on standby four warships and a number of aircraft to deal with the possible impact of Cyclone Yaas that is brewing in the Bay of Bengal. Eight flood relief teams and four diving teams have positioned at Odisha and West Bengal to augment the existing resources, the Indian Navy said. The Indian Navy said in a statement, "Naval aircraft are kept ready at naval air stations INS Dega at Visakhapatnam and INS Rajali near Chennai to undertake an aerial survey of the affected areas, casualty evacuation, and airdrop of relief material as required.”
The state government has pressed a 22-member team of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) into operation in the wake of Cyclone Yaas. It has been asked to store enough supplies and evacuates residents to nearby wind shelters.