10 rescued in Odisha after boat capsizes

COASTAL DISTRICTS OF ODISHA RECEIVED VERY TO EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINFALL AS CYCLONE ‘YAAS’ BATTERED THE REGION

JAGATSINGHPUR BHUBANESWAR: The NDRF, together with the district administration of Jagatsinghpur in Odisha, has rescued 10 people from a river after their boat capsized, amid rough weather conditions under the influence of cyclone ‘Yaas’.

In a video tweeted by the Jagatsinghpur district collector, rescue personnel on Tuesday night can be seen holding on to an inflatable boat as people disembarked.

“Fantastic work by NDRF and BDO, Erasama during #Cycloneyaas rescuing 10 people in the late night from a river after their boat capsized,” the Jagatsinghpur district collector Sangram K Mohapatra tweeted on Wednesday.

He further said that the arduous operation was carried out in the midst of light drizzle and 45-kmph wind speed. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has also lauded the rescue effort. “Appreciate the quick response from the team of @NDRFHQ and Erasama BDO to rescue 10 people from a capsized boat in the river, during a courageous night time rescue operation,” Patnaik tweeted.

Cyclone ‘Yaas’ made its landfall on Wednesday morning near Dhamra port in Odisha at 130140 kmph, gusting to 155 kmph, according to Doppler radar data.

Meanwhile, coastal districts of Odisha received very to extremely heavy rainfall as cyclone ‘Yaas’ battered the region, the meteorological department said.

Chandbali in Bhadrak district recorded rainfall of 288.3 mm over the past 24 hours, followed by Rajkanika in Kendrapara (251 mm), the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.

Nawana in Mayurbhanj district received 210.4 mm rainfall, Binjharpur in Jajpur (206 mm), Paradip in Jagatsinghpur (200.3 mm) and Astaranga in Puri (180 mm), it said.