Cyclone Yaas, with gusts of up to 130-145 kmph, whipped along the country's eastern shores on Wednesday, pouring torrential rain that damaged buildings and farmlands and killing at least four people — three in Odisha and one in Bengal, as per officials. Thick sheets of rain confused the broad coastline as the storm made landfall at Dhamra port in Odisha at 9 a.m., with surging seas overloading the mud-and-thatch buildings in low-lying districts, where a huge evacuation campaign has been launched to send more than 20 lakh people out of the water to safety.

During the afternoon, the storm comparatively slowed down, but apparently, it had left the whole coastal area on the edge. On this, the Bengal government claims that approximately one crore people have been devastated and now the cyclone has paved its destructive path towards Jharkhand.

Several villages have been miserably flooded Bahanaga and Remuna blocks in the Balasore district, and Dhamra and Basudevpur in the Bhadrak district, reports by Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena.

With the combined help from locals, the administration is trying to take out of the saline water flooded in the houses in the villages. There is a fear of flash floods in Budhabalang river due to heavy rainfall in the Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district.

By afternoon, the water level rose to 21 meters against the danger level of 27 meters, reports shared by the special relief commissioner.

Reports from the local sources state that two persons were killed in Keonjhar and Balasore, when they got crushed beneath the huge uprooted trees. Still, official confirmation reports are yet to receive.

An elderly woman has been reported dead after her house collapsed. Restoration work for power supply is going on in Jagatsingpur, Kendrapara, and Jajpur districts. Jena further reports that the storm might move to Jharkhand by midnight and Odhisa have successfully moved 5.8 lakhs people to safer places. Amid the concerns of the growing Covid pandemic, West Bengal still successfully could evacuate 15 lakh people, to temporary shelters before the cyclone arrived.

The West Bengal chief minister acclaimed that almost, 3 lakh houses and 134 embankments have been destroyed, and further claimed her state to get worse affected.

She further claims that the person who was saved earlier somehow died due to some uncertain accidental factors. She further adds that relief materials of approximately 10 crores have been provided to the affected areas.

Digha in East Midnapur lays completely submerged in mud and water for which later Army officials have been called for further rescue operations.

The Army has so far deployed 17 columns in West Bengal to help out the administration in the rescue operations for the devastated areas. Further rescue operations by Army, are still undergoing at Orphuli in Howrah District, reported by an Army official.