Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal and Odisha on Friday to review the impact of cyclone Yaas in the two coastal states of India.
PM Modi will first land in Bhubaneswar where he will hold a review meeting and he will then proceed for an aerial survey in the affected areas of Balsore, Bhadrak and Purba Medinipur to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Yaas, that has claimed four lives so far. Following this, PM Modi will take part in a review meeting in West Bengal.
Packing winds gusting to 145 kmph, Cyclone Yaas whiplashed parts of India’s eastern coast on Wednesday, leaving behind a trail of damaged homes and flooded farmland, forcing more than 21 lakh people to be evacuated to safe shelters in the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
The cyclone made landfall around 9 am near Dhamra port in Odisha on Wednesday, with surging waters sweeping beached fishing boats inland and swamping the mud-and-thatch houses and farmlands in low-lying areas.
Yaas is the second cyclonic storm to hit India within a week after Tauktae tore into its western coast, causing death and destruction.
Earlier, PM Modi had conducted an aerial survey of areas that were affected by Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat and neighbouring Union Territory of Diu.
Meanwhile, at least eight lakh people in Jharkhand have also been affected by Cyclone Yaas, which barrelled through the state early on Thursday, unleashing copious rain that lashed parts of the state, including Ranchi, and throwing life out of gear in many areas.
Around 15,000 people have been evacuated and moved to safety, and rescue operations are still underway in East Singhbhum district among other places, as water level in several rivers, including Kharkhai and Subarnarekha, continues to flow above the danger mark.
At least four people were killed as several coastal towns of north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal were pounded by the severe cyclonic storm after it made landfall in Odisha on Wednesday morning. While three died in Odisha, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that one person, who was initially rescued, died accidentally later in the state. Banerjee also said that at least one crore people in the state were affected by rough weather conditions and high tide arising out of the storm. Three lakh houses have suffered damage, she told.
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Jharkhand remains on high alert and has evacuated about 15,000 people to safer zones while operations are still on to minimise damage from the cyclone that pounded neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal, officials said.