Cyclone Yaas makes landfall in WB and Odisha, states under alert

New Delhi: Days after the Cyclone Tauktae, Cyclone Yaas has made the landfall around 9:00 am today i.e May 26 on the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal, with wind speed of upto 185 km per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD had issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts on Tuesday night.

Over 11.5 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable places in West Bengal in view of the impending cyclone Yaas, informed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Odisha government informed that it has moved over 2 lakh people from vulnerable areas in coastal districts to safety.

"Light to moderate rainfall expected at most places with heavy to very heavy rains at few places with extremely heavy falls at isolated places in Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Balasore, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara, and Keonjhargarh today," IMD said.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Airport was shut down at 8:30 am today for commercial flights due to Cyclone Yaas.The notification for closure of the airport was issued on Tuesday.

Airports in Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda, Durgapur and Rourkela will also remain shut at different times. Bhubaneswar Airport will be closed from 11 pm on Tuesday till 5 am on Thursday while Jharsuguda Airport will shutter from 12.01 am on Wednesday till 7.45 am on Thursday. Airports in Durgapur and Rourkela airports will be closed on Wednesday, as per the notification by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) .

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the cyclone's impact will be severe for six hours before and after the landfall and Chandbali in Odisha will witness the maximum damage.