High alert in Jharkhand, evacuation on amid threat of cyclone Yaas

The eastern state of Jharkhand which was put on high alert continued evacuating lowlying areas on Wednesday amid the forecast that cyclone Yaas would be hitting the state by midnight after pounding neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal officials saidOperations are being executed on warfooting in the vulnerable areas in East and West Singhbhum besides some other districts in view of the very severe cyclonic storm Yaas Disaster Management Secretary Amitabh Kaushal told PTIWe are witnessing highspeed wind and have evacuated about 6000 persons from thatched houses and danger zones to shelter homes in safer locations East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Suraj Kumar saidPeople are being shifted from lowlying areas near the two rivers in the district that are below the danger mark at present he saidAlso ReadCyclone Yaas Six flights cancelled at Mumbai AirportMany trees and electric poles were also uprooted in East Singhbhum due to highspeed winds disrupting power supply he addedDirectorGeneral of Police Neeraj Sinha told PTI Satellite phones are being provided to interior Naxal affected police stations for emergent communications besides batteries in police wireless systems have been readied in case of communication disruptions due to the stormWe are ready to deal with the situation and have formed rescue teams he addedEast Singhbhum West Singhbhum and SaraikelaKharsawan districts of the state are likely to witness very high seas situation with wind speed of 92117 kmph the weather office saidThe districts of Sahibganj Godda Pakur Garhwa and Palamu may witness very rough seas condition with a wind speed of 5261 kmph Rest of the state is likely to have high to very high seas phenomenon with a wind speed of 6291 kmph it saidThis is the first time in the history of Jharkhand that it is facing such a severe cyclonic stormChief Minister Hemant Soren has asked officials to be on their toes to deal with any emergency situationCovid19 vaccination drives have been suspended till Thursday in some parts of the state in view of heavy rainfall and lightning besides highspeed wind which is likely to uproot trees officials saidDoortodoor testing for Covid19 has also been halted at many places they saidThe Disaster Management Department has alerted authorities to take immediate action as cities such as Ranchi are likely to be flooded due to heavy rainfallForest Drinking Water and Sanitation and Electricity officials have been asked to be on standbyThey have been asked to chalk out alternative plans to deal with electric and water supply besides clearing of roads in case of uprooting of trees and ensuring satellite phones and wireless communication are ready as networks are likely to be hit badlyCyclone Yaas pounded the beach towns in north Odisha and West Bengal as it hit the coast around 9 am with a wind speed of 130140 kmph inundating the lowlying areas amid a storm surge officials saidIt is likely to move to Jharkhand with a lesser intensity by midnight they saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever