Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued alert to Odisha that Cyclone Yaas will make landfall near the Dhamra coast in Bhadrak Wednesday morning — all of these districts are in the Covid red zone with more than 1,000 active cases each.
On Tuesday, the state government added Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Bhadrak to the list of districts under cyclone threat, apart from Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Cuttack where heavy rainfall is expected. Of these, Cuttack tops the Covid chart with 57,061 cases and 154 deaths in all, with an active caseload of 9,721.
The Health Department has asked these districts to keep kits ready for immediate screening and testing after the cyclone. The state has also decided to suspend all work related to Covid, including testing, vaccination and door surveys, from May 25-27.
Besides, officials said, sealing and fortification of doors and windows are being done in Covid facilities “to avoid any untoward incidents”. On Tuesday, Odisha added 10,939 new cases, taking the overall state tally to 7,14,380.
By Tuesday evening, 2,48,049 people had been evacuated from coastal villages and low-lying areas and shifted to shelters. Officials said preparations have been made to evacuate upto 7.5 lakh people, with over 7,000 cyclone shelters, including 860 permanent facilities, identified by district administrations. They said that 800 personnel of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed while IAF helicopters and Navy vessels are on standby.
“Cyclonic storm Yaas is very likely to move north-northwestwards, intensifying further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during the next 12 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts very close to Chandbali-Dhamra port by the early morning of Wednesday,” H R Biswas, Director, Bhubaneswar Meteorological Department, said.
Apart from the districts on alert, isolated heavy rainfall is also expected in nearby districts, including Sundergarh, Deogarh, Angul, Khurda and Puri, which have been issued yellow alerts by the state’s meteorological centre.
(Sources: Indian Express)
