India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
New Delhi, May 25: Cyclone Yaas intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday evening, India Meteorological Department Director General M Mohapatra said, even as the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand aggressively evacuated over 12 lakh people to storm shelters by late evening.
The IMD also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
“The severe cyclonic storm ”Yaas” (pronounced as ”Yass”) over northwest and Bay of Bengal intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm,” Mohapatra said.
Yaas”, which was positioned 160 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 240 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal over north-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on Tuesday evening, is likely to gain a maximum speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph during landfall, the Met department said.
“It is very likely to cross…