Cyclone Yaas, which is the second cyclonic storm that India braces up within two weeks after Tauktae, has made landfall in Odisha on Tuesday morning before keeping its trajectory towards West Bengal. The eastern states have deployed a security drive to rescue the people in the affected areas as the cyclone was predicted to be more severe. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red-coded warning for the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal. 

According to reports, the landfall of Cyclone Yaas has begun at 9 am on Tuesday near Dhamra Port, Odisha with intense wind and rainfall, and the landfall will likely be continuing for three to four hours before passing to the coasts of West Bengal. Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena told the reporters that the cyclone has made landfall and the maximum impact can be seen in Balasore and Bhadrak districts. 

He said, "Landfall occurred north of Dhamra and south of Bahanaga, close to Bahanaga block on the coast". Earlier, the IMD had made a forecast that the wind speed during landfall would be around 155 to 185 kmph, the data tracking the cyclone has indicated that the wind speed of Yaas was at 130-150 kmph when it hit the coasts. Jena stated that about 5.80 lakh people in vulnerable areas of Odisha have been evacuated and shifted to safe shelters.

West Bengal government has on Tuesday said that at least 9 lakh people living near the coasts have been evacuated and sheltered in temporary camps owing to the cyclone. The Central government has also deployed the teams of the National Disaster Relief Force to both the states to aid the governments in relief measures. The state governments had also deployed the state forces to address the damages and devastations brought by the cyclone. 

According to Met department officials, five subdivisions and blocks of West Bengal and four of Odisha are expected to get submerged by the rainfall and the reason behind such a high storm surge is also partially due to full-moon activity. The Met department in Kolkata said that the maximum wind speed in the city had reached 62 kmph and the maximum wind speed in the coastal resort town of Digha in East Midnapore reached around 90 km per hour. 

Several low-lying areas in South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts in West Bengal were inundated due to heavy tidal waves. The meteorological department has warned of high tidal waves in the low-lying areas close to the coasts. As India braces up for the second cyclone in a week, the eastern states were prepared to endure the severe tropical cyclone amid taking the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to reports, several airports in the region including Kolkata International Airport had suspended their services and several trains were also been cancelled. The Eastern Command of the Indian Army has been working in coordination with the West Bengal government and has deployed a total of 17 cyclone relief columns, comprising of specialized army personnel with adequate equipment and mechanisms to rescue the affected people. 

On the other side, around 400 rescue teams including 52 from the NDRF, 60 from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, 205 Fire Service teams, and 86 groups of tree-cutters have been deployed in the vulnerable districts of Odisha. Apart from West Bengal and Odisha, Andhra Pradesh has also deployed a large number of forces for rescue operations. The Met department has said that most parts of West Bengal and Odisha had received heavy rains during Monday night. 

West Bengal had reported that the heavy winds had damaged around 80 houses with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling the storm as 'tornado'. It must be noted that West Bengal and Odisha had witnessed   Cyclone Amphan last year, which destructed major coastal areas. Amphan was more severe than Yaas and the former had was active from May 16 to May 21, 2020. While causing damages worth $13.7 billion, super cyclonic storm Amphan has also claimed the lives of 128 people.