Odisha, May 22: Earlier India’s western coast battles the aftermath of Cyclone Tauktae that ravaged Gujarat and Maharashtra, another cyclonic storm, Cyclone Yaas is coming on the eastern coast. The Centre has issued warnings for both Odisha and West Bengal ahead of the cyclonic storm’s projected impact on May 26.
In its latest update, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said a low-pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, which is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Monday.
The probability of formation of a depression over the next 72-120 hours over the Bay of Bengal is high, said the latest bulletin issued by the IMD.
The cyclonic storm ‘Cyclone Yaas’, is likely to hit northwestwards and reach the Odisha-West Bengal coast on May 26.
22 special trains announced by the Indian Railways, which were to run in the next week in West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh belt have been cancelled.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has begun positioning its teams in West Bengal and Odisha as Cyclone Yaas is likely to hit these states on the eastern coast of the country around May 26-27.
Also Read: Bengal, Odisha prep for Cyclone Yaas; IMD says Amphan-like intensification can’t be ruled out | All you need to know
Some of the members of NDRF teams dispatched to undertake evacuation, rescue, and restoration work in states affected by Cyclone Tauktae on the western coast is being called back.
This is the second consecutive cyclone that has brewed in the Bay of Bengal in the month of May — Cyclone Amphan had formed on May 16, 2020, intensified and made landfall on May 20. The unusually warm sea surface — the warmest ever recorded — had fuelled Amphan to become the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal.
