Bhubaneswar: Coastal districts in the northern parts of the State including Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Bhadrak are most likely bear the brunt of cyclone ‘Yaas’ which is likely to hit the coasts between North Odisha and West Bengal on May 26 noon.
Speaking exclusively to OTV, IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the cyclone is likely to inflict severe damages to thatched houses, asbestoes roofs and even the old pucca buildings. Big trees including palm, coconut which mostly grow in coastal areas may get uprooted due to severe wind speed on the day of landfall.
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The wind speed will remain 120-160kmph in four districts. It will gradually increase from May 26 morning becoming 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph at the time of landfall , he maintained.
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The sea tide would be as high as 4-5 metres above the mean sea level during the period in which plane areas closed to the coasts in these four districts may be swept by the tidal waves, he added.
The ports in coastal Odisha have been also alerted to regulate their activities, Mohapatra said.
Train, air and road traffic should also be regulated in view of the cyclone, he added.
The phenomenon will trigger rain which will begin from today. The intensity of the rainfall will increase from tomorrow. These four sensitive regions in the north parts of the State will experience heavy to very heavy rainfall on May 26.
The standing crops will be affected mostly while low-lying areas will get water logged, Mohapatra pointed out.
“I request people residing in vulnerable areas to cooperate with the government in the evacuation exercise. Whenever, government directs, they should move to safe places,” Mohapatra appealed.
The cyclone is currently situated around 500 km south-southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 650 km south-southeast of Balasore.
It will intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm by tomorrow and into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm on May 26, the IMD DG informed.
It will most probably make landfall somewhere in Balasore district, Mohapatra predicted.