A few days after cyclone “Tauktae”, another tropical cyclone swept over India. The cyclone “Yaas” hit land on Wednesday morning on the east coast with wind speeds of up to 155 kilometers per hour, as the Indian weather authority announced. She warned of meter-high waves in some regions.
“We have been experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds since last night,” said the resident Bibhu Prasad Panda from Balasore in the state of Odisha. Several trees have been uprooted and power lines have been cut. According to the authorities, two people were electrocuted in the state of West Bengal.
Airports were closed
The international airport of the West Bengal capital Kolkata largely ceased operations on Wednesday. The airport in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the neighboring state of Odisha, was also closed as a precaution. Odisha’s Prime Minister Naveen Patnaik called on the residents of the coastal areas to get to safety without panic.
The number and intensity of cyclones is increasing due to climate change
More than 1.2 million residents of the coastal regions in West Bengal and Odisha have already been taken to emergency shelters. 4,800 disaster relief workers were deployed in both states.
155 people were killed in the passage of cyclone “Tauktae” in western India last week. According to scientists, the number and intensity of cyclones in the region is increasing as a result of climate change and the associated higher water temperatures in the sea.