Cyclone Yaas to make landfall near Odisha’s Balasore around Wednesday noon; Flight services may be hit

New Delhi, May 24: Cyclonic storm Yaas is very likely to make landfall near Balasore in north Odisha with a speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph, gusting to 185 kmph, around noon on May 26, the Met department said on Monday.

The system, which lay centred about 620 km south-southeast of Balasore and 610 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal over east central Bay of Bengal on Monday morning, will move in a north-northwesterly direction, Sanjib Bandopadhyay, the deputy director at the Regional Met Centre in Kolkata, said.

It will intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Monday night and further intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by May 26 early morning, he told reporters.

Five teams deployed in East Midnapore & 2 teams in Digha. Evacuation has started in Digha with people in temporary shelters being evacuated while those in permanent houses have been asked to take necessary precautions, ahead of Cyclone Yaas: NDRF Asst Commandant (2nd Battalion)

Keeping in view the impending very severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas', the Odisha government on Monday decided to suspend the COVID-19 testing, vaccination and door-to-door survey work in the three cyclone prone districts.

The three districts are-Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. They fall in the red zones having more than 1000 active coronavirus cases.

'The ongoing activities of COVID-19 testing, vaccination and door-to-door COVID-19 survey shall remain suspended in Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts between May 25 and 27,' a notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department said.