‘Very severe cyclonic storm’ Yaas is presently located around 630 kilometres away from Digha coast and is likely to make a landfall on Tuesday evening somewhere between Digha in East Midnapore district in West Bengal and Paradeep in Odisha.

The state administration has pressed into action all its resources to minimise the damages caused by the storm.

The state administration is fully geared up to deal with the cyclone. The Unified Command Agency that includes officials from all departments including NDRF, SDRF, Kolkata police, West Bengal marine police, coastal guards, officials from that state electricity board and Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation has started working from Monday morning.

“Our initial target is to minimise casualty and so for the last two days we have shifted most of the people from the coastal and low-lying areas to the cyclone centres. Coastal guards and marine police along with NDRF and SDRF teams are keeping a strict vigil in the areas like Digha, Shankarpur, Frazergunj, Kakdwip and Bakkhali and are not allowing anybody to venture into the rough water.

“So far, we have been able to send back most of the fishing boats. We have also asked them not to stay in boats because last time some people died because they had taken shelter inside the boats,” a senior official of the state disaster management department said.

“The state government has declared a ‘Red Alert’ in all the coastal areas of Digha, Sakarpur in East Midnapore, Frazerganj, Kakdwip and Sagar in South 24 Parganas.

“There has been extensive public announcement made by the local administration warning people of the impending danger of the storm.

“As the river barrier has been damaged in some areas of Canning, Kakdwip, Sundarban and Sagar we are making every possible effort to repair the embankments,” the official added.

“The PHE department is installing portable water purifying machines that can purify water from the ponds. This is being done to mitigate the scarcity of drinking water after the storm is over,” he added.

The Indian Air Force has kept one C-17, one IL-76, three C-130s, four An-32s and two Dornier transport aircraft on readiness for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ashish Moghe said on Sunday.

“Additionally, 11 Mi-17 V5s, two Chetaks, three Cheetahs, two Dhruvs and seven Mi-17 helicopters are also on alert for any eventuality,” a state official coordinating with the army said.

So far, the IAF airlifted 950 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and 70 tonnes of cargo from Jamnagar, Varanasi, Patna and Arakonnam to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Port Blair in 15 aircraft.

The navy, which was at the centre of rescue and relief efforts in Arabian Sea in the aftermath of Cyclone Tauktae, has also shifted into overdrive to respond to the situation likely to unfold along the eastern coast.

“The Indian Navy has moved 10 HADR pallets to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, while five HADR pallets are ready at Port Blair. Eight ships of the Eastern Naval Command and Andaman and Nicobar Command have been embarked with HADR bricks (relief material) to provide succour to the people likely to be impacted,” the state government official said.

Four diving teams and 10 flood relief columns are ready in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Chilika for providing assistance to the civil authorities at short notice, the officials said.

Also, seven flood relief teams and two diving teams are ready at different locations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Naval aircraft and helicopters in Visakhapatnam and Port Blair are on alert to carry out search and rescue missions, the official added.

“Eight flood relief columns and three engineer task forces of the Indian Army are ready for immediate deployment on requisition by the civil administration. The armed forces are in constant touch with the civil administration of the affected states. Armed forces teams are aware of the need to keep the road and rail links open to ensure uninterrupted supply of life saving oxygen and drugs required for treatment at Covid hospitals,” the statement added.