Cyclone Yaas bears down as India braces for 2nd major storm in 10 days

More than 1.1 million people have evacuated low-lying areas ahead ofa cycloneexpected to hit part of India's eastern coast around midday Wednesday.

Cyclone Yaas has already caused two deaths and damage to homes as severe weather and rains affect Odisha and West Bengal states. It is due to make landfall around noon local time.

The "very severe cyclonic storm" has sustained winds of up to 140 km/hthat are gusting up to 155 km/h, the India Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.

A tornado snapped electricity lines that electrocuted two people and damaged 40 houses in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Tuesday, the top state elected official Mamata Banerjee said.

Kolkata airport is shut and train services were cancelled before the storm as a precaution, the railroad department said.

The cyclone has dumped more than 17 centimetresof rain in Chandabali and Paradip regions of Odisha state since Tuesday, the meteorological department said. Waves as high as four metresare expected to flood some low-lying areas.

At least 20 districts in West Bengal state were expected to feel the brunt of the storm. Fishing trawlers and boats were told to take shelter.

2nd storm in 10 days

Yaas will be the second storm to hit India in 10 days after Cyclone Tauktae killed at least 140 people across western states last week.

Nearly 70 victims were on a barge that ripped free of its anchors in the storm and sank off Mumbai's coast.

The massive storms come as India is battling a devastating coronavirus surge, complicating efforts to deal with both.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities asked all fishing boats and trawlers over the north Bay of Bengal and the deep sea to move closer to the coast ahead of Yaas.

Ships told to leave ports

A weather bulletin from the country's Meteorological Department in Dhaka said that ships should leave maritime ports of Chattogram, Mongla, Cox's Bazar and Payra.

Scientists say cyclones in India are becoming more frequent and changing climate patterns have caused them to become more intense.

Last May, nearly 100 people died in Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful storm to hit eastern India in more than a decade.

It flattened villages, destroyed farms and left millions without power in eastern India and Bangladesh.