Very Severe Cyclonic Storm “Yaas” makes landfall over Odisha, India
Featured image: Very Severe Tropical Cyclone "Yaas" at 05:00 UTC on May 26, 2021. Credit: EUMETSAT/Meteosat-8
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm "Yaas" crossed the north Odisha coast, India about 20 km (12.4 miles) south of Balasore from 05:00 to 06:00 UTC (10:30 to 11:30 IST) on May 26, 2021, with an estimated wind speed of 130 – 140 km/h (80 – 87 mph) gusting to 155 km/h (95 mph). Yass then moved NNW at a speed of about 14 km/h (9 mph) and was about 15 km (9 miles) SSW of Balasore at 06:00 UTC. It weakened into a Severe Cyclonic Storm by 07:00 UTC.
According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, around 20 000 mud houses and temporary shelters in Bengal were already destroyed or damaged.
"I have not seen anything like this before," said Bengal minister Bankim Hazra after sea waters inundated low-lying areas in Digha.
In 24 hours to 06:00 UTC, Kusumi in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district recorded 304 mm (11.9 inches) of rain, 288 mm (11.3 inches) was recorded in Chandbali, Odisha, and 275 mm (10.8 inches) in Rajnagar, Odisha.
Tidal waves of 2 – 3 m (6.5 – 10 feet) above the astronomical tides were expected to continue to flood the low-lying areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur districts over the next few hours.
Very Severe Tropical Cyclone "Yaas" at 05:00 UTC on May 26, 2021. Credit: EUMETSAT/Meteosat-8
Image credit: IMD
A record 115 National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed.
Nearly 1.8 million people have evacuated ahead of the landfall, around 600 000 from low-lying areas of Odisha and 1.15 million from West Bengal.
At least 2 people were electrocuted to death and around 80 homes were partially damaged after a tornado hit Hooghly and North 24 Parganas on May 25, Banerjee said.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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My prayers go out for the beautiful peoples of India. I pray for safety, health, and happiness.