Cyclone Yaas: Mamata Banerjee reviews preparedness, holds meet at state secretariat

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has taken all precautionary measures to deal with Cyclone Yaas, likely to hit the state on May 26, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will stay at a control room set up for the purpose to monitor the situation, officials said on Saturday, Banerjee, who held a high-level meeting at the state secretariat during the day, said that relief materials were dispatched to vulnerable areas, while officials were directed for early evacuation of people from coastal and riverine areas. “I have extensively reviewed the Disaster Management preparedness with regards to the impending Yaas cyclone today afternoon with all senior officers of relevant Central & State agencies along with DMs & SPs,” Banerjee tweeted. “All officials have been advised integrated command, advance planning and early evacuation from coastal and riverine areas to rescue shelters including cyclone & flood shelters, and to conduct relief and rehabilitation operations at the earliest,” she added. The state government has set up a control room to monitor the situation at the state secretariat Nabanna, which will work round the clock. The phone numbers of the control room are 1070 and 033-22143526, Banerjee said. “All agencies have been asked to spring into action. Relief materials have been dispatched & Quick Response Teams are mobilised. I request all to stay alert,” she said in the Twitter post. Besides the centralised control room, the state government has opened several smaller control rooms in coastal areas of the state, an official said. “The chief minister will remain present at the control room in Nabanna on the days when the cyclone is about to hit the coastal areas of the state. She will be accompanied by other senior officers of the government,” he said. All precautionary measures have been taken by the administration, the officer added. A low pressure area formed over east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by 25 May. The storm, named Cyclone Yaas, may move towards West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh around 26 May morning, the Met department said. The system is very likely to cross the coasts of the two states and the neighbouring country around 26 May evening. Wind speed is very likely to reach 90 to 100 km per hour gusting to 110 kmph from May 26 forenoon along and off West Bengal, north Odisha and Bangladesh coasts and increase thereafter till May 26 evening, the MeT office said