Cyclone Yaas that made landfall in Odisha bringing gusty winds, heavy rainfalls in the state, the cyclonic storm l;eft behind trails of devastation and destruction at different parts. Trees and electric poles were uprooted, low-lying areas inundated while kutcha houses were badly damaged in coastal districts of Balasore and Bhadrak on Wednesday.
Residents of several parts of the two districts, which bore the brunt of the 'very severe cyclonic storm', are staying without power since Tuesday night while many people have been evacuated to safer places by the government. Officials are yet to assess the damages caused by the storm in the two districts but said that it appears that devastations have been less than previously feared.
Coastal districts received very to extremely heavy rainfall as cyclone battered the region. Chandbali in Bhadrak district recorded rainfall of 288.3 mm over the past 24 hours, followed by Rajkanika in Kendrapara (251 mm), the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.
Nawana in Mayurbhanj district received 210.4 mm rainfall, Binjharpur in Jajpur (206 mm), Paradip in Jagatsinghpur (200.3 mm) and Astaranga in Puri (180 mm). Mayurbhanj district, which is away from the coastal belt, experienced heavy rain since Tuesday night.
After pounding the beach towns of north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal with a wind speed of 130-145 kmph and storm surge in the morning, Cyclone Yaas has weakened to a 'severe cyclonic storm' in the afternoon.
Here's a look at the destruction caused by Cyclone Yaas in Odisha:
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 113 teams in five states and a UT as part of its preparation and response to the severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas'-- the highest ever such deployment in the rescue operation.
These teams have been deployed in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Island.
