Families seek shelter as cyclone Yaas leaves thousands homeless in Bengal

Around 1,100 villages had been flooded by storm surges, leaving at least 50,000 homeless, news agency Reuters reported citing authorities.

Thousands of people were left homeless after cyclone Yaas battered the eastern coast of India and inundated hundreds of low-lying villages of West Bengal and Odisha, triggering an exodus in village areas.

At least five people were also killed in the storm which came just days after the cyclone Tauktae (REUTERS)

In West Bengal, the Midnapore district and Shankarpur were the worst hit as cyclone Yaas severely damaged homes and uprooted trees. Seawater also entered Shankarpur village in the district forcing people to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.

A resident of Shankarpur, Putul who had to move to a relative's house after the cyclone washed away his home, said he was surprised to see the level of the water as it rose to the "severe" level. "I am shocked to see this kind of effect. Earlier also there had been cyclones but not severe like this. We were stuck in the houses due to the flood and managed to escape but our documents got washed away. We are going to take shelter in our relative's house. We lost belongings too," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

Another resident of a village, Taps Bera said, it will take more than a year to return to normal life, as per ANI report. "I am taking my family and shifting to other villages. It will take more than a year for normal life to return," he said.

Apart from Midnapore and Shankarpur, the cyclone also impacted Bankura, South 24 Pargana and Jhargram districts in West Bengal. Around 1,100 villages had been flooded by storm surges, leaving at least 50,000 homeless, news agency Reuters reported citing authorities.

Packing gusts of up to 140 kph (87 mph), cyclone Yaas made landfall on Wednesday. According to the latest bulletin by the India Meteorological Department, it has now weakened into a deep depression and will continue to do so. It is likely to move northwestwards and weaken gradually into a depression during the next 12 hours, the weather department said.

At least five people were also killed in the storm which came just days after the cyclone Tauktae which claimed the lives of more than a hundred people.

Meanwhile, a thunderstorm with lightning, gusty wind speed 30-40 kmph and light to moderate rainfall likely to affect Kolkata, east and west Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly North and South 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Murshidabad in West Bengal over the next three hours, the regional meteorological centre said.