May 26, 2021
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17:01 (IST)
Cyclone Yaas Updates
Yaas pounds West Bengal, Mamata claims state worst hit by cyclone
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that West Bengal was the most affected state due to the cyclone. "At least one crore people in Bengal have been
affected by this natural disaster. As of now, three lakh houses have been damaged. One person died an accidental death even after he was rescued," the chief minister said. Relief materials worth Rs 10 crore were sent to the affected areas, she said.
The resort town of Digha in East Midnapore, which shares a border with Balasore district of Odisha, was completely inundated with the Army being called in for rescue operations. The nearby beach resorts of Mandarmani, Tajpur and Shankarpur were also flooded with seawaters entering the hotels and flooding the roads, besides causing damage to kutcha shops and houses. In certain areas, the waves even went past the top of coconut trees that line these popular beaches.
In South 24 Parganas, many places, including Kakdwip, Fraserganj, Gosaba and Maipith in the Sunderbans region were flooded, displacing lakhs of villagers as thousands of kutcha houses were extensively damaged in the surging water and gale wind, officials said. Several rivers in the riverine delta region were in
spate owing to the phenomenal rise in water level caused by the dual effect of storm surge from the cyclone and the astronomical tide due to the full moon, they said.
Flooding was also reported from Sagar island at the confluence of Hooghly and Bay of Bengal. The water level rose to nearly five feet in front of the famed Kapil Muni temple near the beach on the island, officials said.