No major damage as Cyclone Yaas hits northern Odisha coast, 2 dead

Cyclone Yaas triggered very heavy rainfall in most parts of north coastal Odisha on Wednesday morning with Chandbali station in Bhadrak district receiving the maximum rainfall of 288.3 mm followed by 251 mm in Rajkanika of Kendrapada district.

Published on: May 26, 2021, 16:57:13 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Two people were reportedly killed in Odisha as very severe cyclonic storm Yaas made landfall near a coastal village in Balasore district battering the northern coastline of the state with a sustained wind speed of 140 to 145 kmph gusting upto 155 kmph. It then weakened into a severe cyclonic storm by Wednesday afternoon.

Under the impact of Cyclone Yaas, tidal surges inundated 3 seaside villages in Balasore district marooning about 5,000 people on Wednesday. (PTI PHOTO.)

IMD officials said very severe cyclonic storm Yaas made landfall on Barajadhauli village in Balasore district on the Odisha coast at 9 am and then moved north-north-westwards wreaking havoc on coastal Balasore and Bhadrak district. By 1 pm the landfall process had been completed as it lay about 15 km west-southwest of Balasore.

Special relief commissioner Pradip Jena said the cyclone did not inflict any major damage as it had considerably weakened from its initial assessment. He said that tidal waves of 2-3 meters height inundated low lying areas of Balasore and Bhadrak districts. “The wind speed will decrease to 100 kmph after it crosses Balasore to reach Mayurbhanj district and then decrease to 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph by evening. Under the influence of the cyclone, heavy to very heavy rainfall has been witnessed at many places in North Odisha in the last 24 hours,” he said.

ALSO READ | Cyclone Yaas makes landfall over Odisha, West Bengal coasts

The initial report of a cyclone-related casualty came from Keonjhar district when an elderly man was crushed to death after a tree toppled due to strong winds at Panchapalli village under Anandpur block. In Balasore district, a young man in Nilgiri was killed after a tree fell on him. Pradip Jena, however, said both the deaths are being investigated.

Under the impact of the storm, tidal surges inundated 3 seaside villages in Balasore district marooning about 5,000 people. State government officials said people in Banajoka, Charigochhia and Naupalagadi villages under Balasore block were marooned by the waters of tidal surge. Sea water entered villages in Talsara region of Jaleswar block of Balasore district. Similarly, a flash flood in Basudevpur block of Bhadrak district marooned people in 10 villages. People in Basudevpur dug up a road to divert seawater that had entered a residential area.

Cyclone Yaas triggered very heavy rainfall in most parts of north coastal Odisha on Wednesday morning with Chandbali station in Bhadrak district receiving the maximum rainfall of 288.3 mm followed by 251 mm in Rajkanika of Kendrapada district. Garadpur and Marshaghai in Kendrapara district received 245 mm and 229mm rains respectively while Kujang, Tirtol and Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur district and Binjharpur in Jajpur district received more than 200mm rainfall each in the last 24 hours.

At least 19 stations, in Jajpur, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, Balasore, Bhadrak, and Puri received above 100 mm rainfall this morning. In Puri district, Kakatpur and Astaranga received heavy rains. In Chandipur coast of Balasore, sea water entered a resort.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said multiple teams are working towards speedy restoration pertaining to damages caused by Cyclone Yaas. Patnaik said PWD Balasore along with QRT teams and ODRAF teams are removing fallen trees in different parts of the district.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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