Why Are Families Naming Their Newborns After Super Cyclone 'Yaas'?

Odisha: Out of the 300 children born during the super cyclone Yaas, about 30 children were named after the storm that affected the east coast of the country.

According to a report by The Hindu, families were glad to have their newborns born on a day that "would be remembered by one and all".

Officials reported that while the state battled Cyclone Yaas, which caused widespread destruction among the States of Odisha and West Bengal, over 300 families welcomed a newborn on Tuesday. Several families sorted to name their child after the disaster.

Naming Children After Cyclone Yaas

One of the victim families who coincidentally welcomed their newborn on the day of the storm said that she couldn't have thought of a better name than 'Yaas' for the newborn boy, whose birth marked the arrival of the cyclone.

Saraswati Bairagi from Kendrapara district of Odisha told the leading daily that she named her newborn girl after the storm, as "that way everyone would remember the time of her arrival".

Bairagi added that she was extremely happy about the fact her child came to the world on a day that would be "remembered by one and all". "I have named her Yaas".

Women who were in the last leg of their pregnancy were relocated to Maa Gruha, local delivery centres and other local hospitals, the government had affirmed.

Anganwadi and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers provided aid to some of the pregnant women while they delivered in the multi-purpose shelter homes.

Reportedly, the worst-affected Balasore district witnessed altogether 165 births with 79 male and 86 females. Bhadrak followed Balasore, where 60 children, including 37 male and 22 female took birth.

District medical officer of Bhadrak Shibasish Moharana said 23 deliveries were reported from Basudevpur block in Bhadrak, adjacent to Bahanaga block, where the cyclone made its landfall. Mayurbhanj, which also underwent high-speed wind and extremely violent downpour, recorded 66 births.