NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked government officials to evacuate people on the eastern coast of the country well in time on Sunday as India braces itself for the second cyclone in as many weeks.
Modi chaired a review meeting to oversee India’s preparedness for Cyclone Yaas.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that the National Disaster Response Force has already prepared to dispatch 46 teams.
“Thirteen teams are being airlifted today to deal with cyclone Yaas,” the PMO statement said.
Several ministers and government officials—representatives from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), secretaries from Telecom, Power, Civil aviation and Earth Sciences ministries—attended the meeting, besides the home minister among others.
Cyclone Yaas is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and cross the Odisha and the West Bengal coasts on May 26, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.