Yaas Cyclone: Rain and gusty winds hit Odisha's Balasore district

Cyclone Yaas intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday evening, India Meteorological Department Director General M Mohapatra said, even as the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand aggressively evacuated over 12 lakh people to storm shelters by late evening. The IMD also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts. "The severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' (pronounced as 'Yass') over northwest and Bay of Bengal intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm," Mohapatra said.