Cyclone Yaas to make landfall between Paradeep and Sagar Island: IMD

New Delhi : Cyclone Yaas is set to intensify from severe to very severe cyclone and pass between Paradeep and Sagar islands on Wednesday, said Indian Meteorogical Department (IMD). The cyclone will have winds of speed around 185kmph and will be causing a large-scale damage to four coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore.

"The wind speed of 155 to 165 km per hour gusting to 185 km per hour is highly damaging wind speed and can cause large scale damaging impact. Heavy rainfall is expected in coastal districts from Tuesday while the impact of strong wind can be felt six hours before and after the landfall. North Odisha districts are likely to be badly hit in the cyclone," said director general (DG) of IMD Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

He mentioned that the impact on it can be compared to cyclone Tauktae which has similar intensity and ravaged the western coast of India last week.

"The low pressure area over Bay of Bengal has concentrated into a depression and is located about 700 km away from Balasore and Digha. It would move north and north-eastward and intensify into a cyclone storm by Monday morning. It is very likely to cross north Odisha - West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar islands by evening of May 26 as a very severe cyclonic storm," said IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

"There are so many parameters that help in intensification of the cyclonic storm like the temperature of sea surface, how long the system is in the mid-sea, moisture in the atmosphere. The longer it will stay in the sea there are chances of it becoming more severe," Mohapatra added.

According to IMD, the rainfall in many areas of the districts can be experienced from Tuesday onwards.