Cyclone Yaas Storm Tracker: IMD Predicts Path, Intensity Of Tropical Storm; Bengal, Odisha To Evacuate Thousands

Governments of Bengal & Odisha are on high alert for the very severe cyclonic storm Yaas heading their way from the Bay of Bengal. It is likely to make landfall late on May 26. Both states will be hit by wind speeds likely to whip up to 155 to 165 kmph gusting at 185 kmph. Yaas is expected to be about as intense as Cyclone Tauktae which slammed into the west coast last week but tamer than Cyclone Amphan which hit Bengal exactly one year ago and for about three devastating minutes sustained wind speeds of 240 kmph. At least 80 people lost their lives. The wind speed of the 1999 super-cyclone, the most severe one ever in the Bay of Bengal, is reported to have hit Odisha with winds speeds of 260 to 300 kmph & claimed nearly 10,000 lives. In both states, the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF, the military and the Coast Guard have been pressed into service. Of 85 NDRF teams, 32 have been deployed in Bengal and 28 in Odisha. Some teams are also out in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Bengal government has set up a control room at the state secretariat Nabanna which will be manned by Mamata Banerjee herself on May 25 & May 26. Watch the video to know more.