Cyclone Yaas pounds Odisha-Bengal coasts, IMD says may reach Jharkhand

• Cyclone Yaas pounded the beach towns in north Odisha & neighbouring West Bengal. The cyclone hit the coast around 9 am on Wednesday with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph. IMD said the wind will slow down by evening & is likely to reach Jharkhand on Thursday. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra of IMD said, “Cyclone Yaas is currently crossing the Odisha border south of Balasore. The wind speed during landfall was at 130-140 kmph, gusting to 155 kmph. The cyclone is expected to reach Jharkhand tomorrow morning. Odisha's Balasore, Bhadrak & Bengal's Medinipur have been most affected.” The location of landfall was north of Dhamra in Odisha's Bhadrak & 50 km south of Balasore. NDRF and SDRF teams have been conducting extensive rescue & relief operations. While West Bengal evacuated 15 lakh people, Odisha shifted 5.8 lakh to safer places.