India evacuates 2 million as storm slams coast

India evacuated more than 2 million people as a powerful storm hit the east coast on Wednesday, causing extensive damage at a time when the nation is battling the world’s worst outbreak of Covid-19.

Cyclone Yaas destroyed more than 300,000 houses in West Bengal and affected 10 million people, the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters. River embankments have been breached, damaging some crops and fisheries and livestock farms, she said. The state has evacuated about 1.5 million people to safer areas. Neighboring Odisha has moved more than 500,000 people to relief centers where authorities have asked people to maintain social distancing to check the spread of the coronavirus. News agencies reported that several boats, shops and houses were damaged in the state and scores of trees were uprooted.