Cyclone Yaas has intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm & will make landfall between Dhamra Port & Balasore on the Odisha coast at noon on May 26. The wind speed would be 130-140 km per hour gusting up to 155 km per hour. It is expected to pass over Bengal too. The cyclone is very likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip & Sagar Island. The maximum wind speed of Yaas is expected to be up to 155 km per hour between 5.30 & 11.30 am along the north Odisha coast as the cyclone approaches the land. Around 3 million people in Odisha & half a million people in Bengal have been evacuated from their homes, reported NDTV. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took stock of the situation in coastal districts, where heavy rain coupled with strong winds have started. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced she will stay at the state secretariat on May 26 night to monitor the rescue & relief operation. The army has deployed 17 columns, each with around 100 men, in Bengal, nine of them have been stationed in Kolkata. Flight operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended from 8:30 am to 7:45 pm on May 26, reported news agency ANI quoting airport administration. NDRF chief SN Pradhan said a record 115 teams have been deployed across five states & one Union Territory.