New Delhi: West Bengal administration is making assessments of the damage caused by the impact of the severe cyclone Yaas which made landfall this morning. Extremely high tidal waves and stormy wind along with heavy to very heavy rainfall flooded low lying and coastal areas and also submerged nearby villages and towns in several districts of Bengal.
At several places, disaster management teams rescued people who were stranded due to sudden rush of water, either by breaking the embankments or overflowing the guardwalls. Agricultural land has been extensively damaged due to inflow of saline water in the fields.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata today that at least 1 crore people have been affected and three lakh houses damaged due to rough weather conditions arising out of the cyclone. 134 river embankments along the coastal districts have either broken or been damaged by its impact. The Chief Minister will visit the affected areas of North and South 24 Parganas and East Medinipur on 28th and 29th of May.
The Odisha government has undertaken post cyclone restoration works on a war footing in the affected districts. Though the severe cyclonic storm Yass has already crossed the north Odisha coast around noon today, the adjacent interior district of Mayurbhanj is still witnessing heavy rain and wind. As per preliminary reports, substantial waterlogging, damage to thatched houses, large scale uprooting of trees and inundation along the coast of Baleshwar and Bhadrak district have taken place. The cyclone has also induced high intensity rainfall in the Similipal biosphere reserve area
