A severe cyclonic storm Yaas destroyed tens of thousands of mud houses in eastern India on Wednesday, forcing the closure of the busiest regional airport in Kolkata. As a precaution, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) in the city has closed for operations from 8.30 am to 7.45 pm and no flights will be operating to or from Kolkata, officials said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent the night in the state secretariat Nabanna reviewing preparations and monitoring the situation on the ground.
Banerjee has kept in touch with the magistrates of 20 districts. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Army personnel have been deployed in different places to rescue villagers.

Banerjee told reporters that about 20,000 mud houses and temporary shelters had been damaged in the state, IBNS said. 

She said, "In Midnapore 70 km embankment flooded and in South 24 Parganas at least 15 areas, seawater entered into the villages.”

"Because of the high tide with the cyclonic storm, it caused havoc in the coastal districts. Already we evacuated 115,000  people and requested them not to return to their homes".

As the situation will worsen, we are saying that, please return home only when we will confirm that no further devastation will happen, Banerjee said.

The government's target is to prevent casualties, the chief minister stated.