Powerful Cyclone Yaas flattens homes, uproots trees in coronavirus-hit India

It’s the second powerful cyclone to hit India in two weeks, after Tauktae killed 155 people

There are fears Cyclone Yaas could help spread the deadly coronavirus wave that has hit India in recent weeks

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A cow runs through high tide water in Digha, West Bengal. Photo: AP

Published: 2:10pm, 26 May 2021Updated: 9:28pm, 26 May 2021

At least three people died on Wednesday as howling winds and huge waves slammed eastern India in the Covid-stricken country’s second cyclone in as many weeks.

Cyclones happen regularly in the northern Indian Ocean but many scientists say they are becoming both more frequent and severe as climate change warms the sea.

Barely a week after Cyclone Tauktae claimed at least 155 lives including dozens of oil rig workers in western India, Cyclone Yaas has forced the evacuation of more than 1.5 million people in the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that the seaside town of Digha has been “swamped” by waves the height of a double-decker bus.

She said that two people had been killed including one dragged into the sea by the waves in Digha and another crushed when his house collapsed.

Villagers rest at an emergency shelter. Photo: AFP

Nearly 20,000 houses were damaged and more than a dozen river islands were flooded with a number of embankments breached, she said.

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