Patna, May 24 (IANS): As many as five teams of the National Disaster Response Force's (NDRF) 9th Battalion left for West Bengal to deal with the potential cyclonic storm 'Yass'. NDRF Battalion Commandant, Vijay Kumar Sinha, on Monday said the Air Force's special flight left for West Bengal on Sunday from Patna airport with the teams under the leadership of Harvinder Singh, Second Command Officer, 9th Battalion, NDRF. All five teams are equipped with state-of-the-art disaster management and communication equipment.

Sinha informed that these teams will be deployed in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal as per the orders of NDRF headquarters in New Delhi. The teams comprise a total of 145 NDRF personnel.

He said a high alert has been sounded in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands over cyclone Yass. It is likely to affect Bengal and Odisha the most.

During the rescue operations, NDRF personnel will take full care to avoid coronavirus infection and follow all Covid guidelines.