Cyclone 'Yaas': Rain pounds coastal districts of Odisha

Coastal districts of Odisha received very to extremely heavy rainfall as cyclone 'Yaas' battered the region, the meteorological department said on Wednesday. Chandbali in Bhadrak district recorded rainfall of 288.3 mm over the past 24 hours, followed by Rajkanika in Kendrapara (251 mm), the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.

Nawana in Mayurbhanj district received 210.4 mm rainfall, Binjharpur in Jajpur (206 mm), Paradip in Jagatsinghpur (200.3 mm) and Astaranga in Puri (180 mm), it said.

The districts of Dhenkanal, Angul, Deogarh and Sundargarh received moderate rain, while the average precipitation in Keonjhar district was 44.7 mm, the department said.


Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said of the state's 314 blocks, 36 received rainfall between 110 mm and 304 mm, while 37 other blocks recorded 50-100 mm rainfall.

The IMD has issued a red warning for nine districts that are expected to receive downpour in the next 24 hours.

Cyclone 'Yaas' wreaked havoc in the beach towns in north Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal, as it hit the coast around 9 am with wind speeds of 130-140 kmph, inundating low- lying areas amid a storm surge, officials said.