Cyclone Yaas begins landfall with wind speed of 130-140 kmph
Kolkata/Bhubaneshwar/Dhamra/Digha, May 26: The cyclone Yaass landfall has begun near Dhamra port in Odisha at 9.15 am on Wednesday, even as strong winds and heavy tides saw seawater ingress in many coastal towns and villages in Odisha and West Bengal ahead of the landfall.
The landfall process has begun and will take 3-4 hours to complete the process. The maximum impact will be in Balasore and Bhadrak district, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena told reporters.
He said the location of the landfall is north of Dhamra and south of Bahanaga close to Bahanaga block on the coast.
Jena said about 5.80 lakh people in vulnerable areas of Odisha have been shifted to safe shelters. West Bengal government had on Tuesday also reported that 9 lakh people have been evacuated to storm shelters.
Though IMD had earlier Tuesday forecast that the wind speed during landfall would be around 155 to 165 kmph to gusting 185 kmph, the Doppler RADAR data now indicates the wind speed to be 130-140 kmph gusting to 155 kmph.
Jena said the landfall of Cyclone Yaas has been delayed for some hours with the systems velocity decreasing to 12 kmph from 15 to 16 kmph. He said the cyclone has not intensified further after 2 am.
Since there has been a fall in intensification, we expect the wind speed to be around 130-140 kmph at the time of landfall instead of 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph, he said.
Five sub-divisions and blocks of West Bengal and four of Odisha are expected to be inundated with the most inundation in Bhadrak district of up to 9 km inland. The reason behind such a high storm surge is also partially due to full-moon activity, according to Met department officials.
Sub-districts and blocks expected to be hit by seawater ingress Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Kanthi, Diamond harbour, Basirhat, Tamluk, Uluberia. Scenes of sea water gushing through the streets of Digha were witnessed as of earthmovers and jeeps over-turning as tidal water came in from the sea.
The Met department in Kolkata said the maximum wind speed in the city reached 62 kmph. 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 were inundated owing to high tidal waves.
Several embankments, including 51 in East Midnapore, have been breached as the water level in the rivers in the coastal areas rose, officials and eye-witnesses said.
The Met department also warned of tidal waves of two- four metres height above astronomical tide to inundate low- lying coastal areas of East Midnapore, and of two metres aboveastronomical tide in low-lying areas of South 24 Parganas.
Most parts of West Bengal and Odisha also received heavy overnight rains.
The Met department had earlier warned of tidal waves of two to four metres height above astronomical tide to inundate low lying coastal areas of East Midnapore and of two metres above astronomical tide in low lying areas of South 24 Parganas around the time of landfall of 'Yaas'.
About 404 rescue teams including 52 from the NDRF, 60 from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), 205 Fire service teams and 86 groups of tree-cutters have been deployed in the vulnerable districts of Odisha.
West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh too have deployed large numbers of disaster relief personnel, police and fire brigade for rescue operations.
The Eastern Command of the Indian Army, on requisition, is also working in coordination with the West Bengal government and has deployed a total of 17 cyclone relief columns, comprising specialised army personnel with associated equipment and inflatable boats.
Meanwhile, at least two persons were electrocuted to death and around 80 houses partly damaged after a storm, which West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee described as a "tornado", hit Hooghly and North 24 Parganas districts on Tuesday.
Rain and gusty winds hit Odisha's Bhadrak district; visuals from Dhamara coastal area #CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/A63Sn3iCvZ
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
#WATCH | West Bengal: Water from the sea enters residential areas along New Digha Sea Beach in East Midnapore.
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2021
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Yaas centred about 50 km South-Southeast of Balasore (Odisha). Landfall process has commenced around 9 am, says IMD. #CycloneYaas pic.twitter.com/8m667Py8Ec
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
