Cyclone Yaas weakens into deep depression, likely to move north-westwards

New Delhi: The cyclonic storm 'Yaas' in Bay of Bengal has weakened into a "deep depression" and is very likely to move further northwestwards and weaken gradually.

Yaas, which is crossing between Dhamra and Balasore in Odisha, lay centred at 11:30pm on May 26 over south Jharkhand and adjoining north interior Odisha near latitude 22.4 degree north and longitude 85.8 degree east, about 60 km west-southwest of Jamshedpur and 110 km south south-east of Ranchi in Jharkhand, said the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The cyclone is very likely to move further northwestwards and weaken gradually into a depression by Friday morning. The storm had commenced the landfall process around 9am on Wednesday.

As per the IMD's 2.30am report, the last hourly bulletin regarding 'Yaas', the cyclone then intensified near the centre with windspeeds of about 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph.

The cyclone moved north-northwestwards with a speed of about 13 kmph.

As per the IMD forecast, the wind speed of the storm will decrease gradually becoming 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph during three hours over south Jharkhand and adjoining north Odisha.

The storm is bringing in light to moderate rainfall at most places in Odisha with heavy to very heavy rains at a few places over north interior state during next 12 hours.

In West Bengal, light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura is likely during next 12 hours.

Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall and extremely heavy falls at isolated places in Jharkhand is expected during next 24 hours.

PM reviews cyclone impact, to visit Odisha, Bengal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the impact of Cyclone Yaas at a meeting on Thursday during which he asked the central and states agencies to ensure that normal life is restored in the affected areas at the earliest.

The prime minister chaired the meeting during which officials made a detailed presentation on various aspects of preparedness, assessment of damage and related matters, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

According to another PMO statement, Modi will visit Odisha and West Bengal on Friday and will chair review meetings in the two states to assess the impact of the cyclone.

He will also undertake an aerial survey of the affected areas in the two states, it said.

At the meeting held on Thursday, it was informed that about 106 teams of National Disaster Response Force were deployed with 46 teams each in West Bengal and Odisha that rescued more than 1,000 people and removed more than 2,500 trees and poles that had fallen and obstructed roads, the PMO said.

Defence forces, namely the Army and the Coast Guard, also rescued marooned people, while the Navy and Air Force were on the alert, it said.

(With agency inputs)