Mamata Banerjee Directs Officials To Make Preparations Ahead Of Cyclone Yaas

Preparations for Cyclone Yaas: Bengal's chief minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the officials in her government, to start preparations for an oncoming cyclone.

She held a virtual meeting with her officers on Wednesday and told them to stock up on medicines, drinking water, dry food, tarpaulins, etc. Mamata Banerjee also directed the officials to deploy adequate forces from the state's disaster management team and the police.

Preparations for Cyclone Yaas:

"All cyclone centres and shelters have been asked to be readied. The district magistrates have been directed to take all precautionary measures in the wake of the warnings," said an official.

Besides that, the district administrations have also been directed to not permit fishermen, to venture out into the sea.

Mamata Banerjee's directives come after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had warned of the emergence of a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. They said that it was likely that a low-pressure zone was going to form over the north Andaman Sea and the east-central Bay of Bengal on May 22. It is also likely that the zone was going to intensify into a cyclone storm which will be known as 'Yaas.'

“We have indicated in our bulletin that there is a likelihood of formation of a low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal next week. In our outlook on cyclogenesis also we have indicated that the low-pressure system can intensify. As soon as it comes in our forecast skill range we will mention it in our forecasts,” said Sunitha Devi, in charge – cyclones at the IMD.

Regional Met Director GK Das said that it is possible that this zone or system will reach the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha by 26 May, in the evening.

The IMD also said that light to moderate rainfall might occur in areas located on the eastern coast of India. It also said that several isolated regions in the Andaman and Nicobar islands could experience heavy rainfall on May 22 and 23.