With very severe cyclonic storm Yaas predicted to cross the Odisha coast between Bhadrak and Balasore districts, the State government on Tuesday expedited evacuation of people from low-lying areas and brought more areas under its disaster management operation.
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“As per Mrutynjaya Mohapatra, Director General of India Meteorological Department, the landfall will take place near Dhamra of Bhadrak district on Wednesday morning. Going by different forecasting models, we are preparing ourselves to face the cyclone at places like Bhitarakanika, Dhamra and Chandbali,” said Pradeep Kumar Jena, Special Relief Commissioner, addressing a press conference here.
The State has recorded heavy rainfall under the influence of Cyclone Yaas. As many as 35 blocks of the State have received rainfall above 50 mm each. Some coastal pockets have already experienced increase in wind speed which will further go up in the afternoon.
“We had started the process of evacuation from Monday. As of now, more than 60,000 people have been evacuated. People are also showing an interest in being shifted to safer places. We hope the evacuation process to be completed by evening,” said Mr. Jena.
According to State SRC, the State has identified 860 permanent shelters and 6,031 additional shelters which collectively could accommodate 7.5 lakh people.
“However, we are not fixing any target of evacuating people. We have asked district administration to keep all public buildings in to-be affected areas open for emergency situations,” he said. Five senior IAS officers assigned to oversee cyclone preparedness are functioning in close coordination with district administrations.
2-4 metres sea surge likely
The government is expecting a sea surge between two to four metres in Balasore and Bhadrak districts. The IMD has given clear indication of areas which could be impacted by sea surge.
Keeping the path of the cyclone in mind, the government has added new areas such as parts of Dhenkanal, Angul and Sundargarh districts to its disaster management operation as precautionary measure. The present focus of the government is on Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts.
Units of the National Disaster Response Force, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, and tree cutting units have been rushed to many areas.
All overhead drinking water tanks have been filled up and power back-up machines have been pre-positioned at different localities. The Energy Department has also deployed men and machineries in various districts for early restoration of power.
“If we manage our resources and follow guidelines well in high impact zone, we will be able to save many lives,” said Mr. Jena, urging people not to venture out during the next 48 hours.
Addressing a press conference, H. R. Biswas, Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre of the IMD, said maximum wind speed would be observed near Dhamra port as the cyclone was likely to cross between north of Dhamra and south of Balasore. The maximum wind speed would be between 155 kmph and 165 kmph gusting up to 185 kmph. Mr. Biswas said some isolated places would witness heavy rainfall as high as 20 cm on Tuesday and Wednesday.