Watch: Coast Guard warns ships about cyclone Yaas threat

Indian Coast Guard is alerting ships in the Bay of Bengal about the threat posed by incoming cyclone Yaas, which is expected to make landfall near West Bengal and Odisha on May 26.

The Coast Guard, which is closely monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal, has initiated preventive measures.

Coast Guard Dornier aircraft and ships are intimating the fishermen and vessels operating close to the shore and those at sea about the formation of the cyclonic storm over Odisha-West Bengal coast and directing them to return back to the harbour safely.

Meanwhile, the central government has directed chief secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and administrator of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to ramp up health infrastructure in coastal areas. The government warned that the public health challenge already posed by the Covid-19 pandemic may be amplified due to health risks posed in terms of water-borne, vector-borne and airborne diseases in camps/temporary shelter settings.