Cyclone Yaas: At least one crore people affected and more than three lakh houses damaged in Bengal

At least one crore people have been affected in Bengal and more than three lakh houses damaged on Wednesday due to Cyclone Yaas, which has already crossed the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said quoting initial estimates. One person, who had gone out fishing, has died in East Midnapore’s Ramnagar.

A three-member state team, including the chief minister and chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, will conduct an aerial survey of Digha, Nandigram, Mandarmoni, Ramnagar, Sunderbans, Sagar Islands, Sandeshkhali, Hingalganj–– the most affected areas in East Midnapore, South and North 24 Parganas districts and then hold administrative meetings for rehabilitation on May 28 and 29.

“Due to the lunar eclipse and high tide, the situation worsened and the sea swelled and the damages were huge in Bengal. Various villages have been inundated in several districts,” Mamata Banerjee said.


Several areas in Sandeshkhali I and II, Hingalganj, Haroa in N 24 Parganas district, Namkhana, Kulpi, Frasergunj, Kulpi, Canning I & II, Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas, Digha, Ramnagar I& II, Nandigram, Mahishadal, Kolaghat in East Midnapore district and Sankrail of Howrah district are under water and huge damages have been reported, including inundation of agri-land.

“There have been widespread damages in Digha, Shankarpur, Tajpur and Mandarmani in East Midnapore and in at least 15 places including Gosaba, Basanti, Kultali, Namkhana, Sagar, Joynagar, Frazergunj and Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas,” she said.

The chief minister said that 154 embankments have been breached in many villages. “More than 70 km of the embankment have been fully or partially damaged in East Midnapore. Water from rivers like Bidyadhari and Haldi is entering the villages, inundating many areas,” the chief minister said.

Around 10 lakh tarpaulins have been sent to 14,000 camps and rescue centres. More than 15 lakh people have been evacuated and loss of lives have been lessened due to the preparedness, she added. Banerjee urged people not to leave the cyclone shelters and return to their villages.

“Till now, there has been extensive damage of agricultural land due to huge ingress of saline water. Damage in agri-allied sectors such as fisheries, horticulture and animal husbandry has been reported,” she said.

Several National Disaster Relief Force teams have been pressed into service in East Midnapore’s Digha, where sea water has entered the city roads inundating it. Cars were seen floating there. Mandarmoni, Tajpur and several other areas in East Midnapore districts have been affected. In South 24, Frasergunj, Kakdwip, Sagar, Jharkhali and Gosaba areas have been affected and kuchha houses damaged.

The chief minister with her team of government officials have been monitoring the cyclone round the clock from May 25 from a control room at the state secretariat.

Seventeen companies of Army personnel have been pressed into service in 10 districts. “The Army is equipped with boats, life jackets, ambulances, medicines, and cutters to combat any kind of eventuality. The army is being assisted by teams from the Power and Telecom departments,” she said. “The Indian Navy has also been pressed into action in Digha and other areas of East Midnapore.