3 dead as Cyclone Amphan batters Bengal, winds over 120 kmph in Kolkata

Mangalore Today News Network

West Bengal, May 20, 2020: Cyclone Amphan has made landfall in West Bengal and it will "will continue for about four hours," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.  Three people have died and some buildings in Kolkata were damaged. "The impact of Cyclone Amphan on West Bengal has been worse than the coronavirus pandemic," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Damages due to Cyclone Amphan could be worth Rs 1 lakh crore, she said, while appealing for humanitarian aid. The eye of the cyclone was 30 km in diameter, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said.

Kolkata and nearby areas saw winds of over 100 kmph and pounding rain after Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, made landfall this evening towards Sunderbans, a marshy region famous for its mangroves. .

“The extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan will completely enter land by 7 pm. The cyclone is currently moving at a speed of 25-30 kilometres per hour. Winds with a speed of 155-165 kilometres per hour have been blowing in South and North 24 Parganas and East Medinipur districts of Bengal,” the IMD DG said Hindustan Times reported.

 

 

 

“The first arm of Cyclone Amphan has touched land. The eye of the cyclone is expected to touch land anytime soon,” he said.

“The width of the wall cloud of the cyclone is around 120 kilometres and the diameter of the eye is about 40 kilometres. The rear side is also about 120 kilometres. West Bengal’s South and North 24 Parganas will witness a lull as the eye of the cyclone passes through, but heavy rains, strong winds will resume in the next 30 minutes, as the second arm of the cyclone hits the area,” Mohapatra cautioned.

More than 5 lakh people have been evacuated from nearby coastal areas in the state and another 1,58,640 people have been removed to safer areas in neighbouring Odisha, with both states being hit by the cyclonic storm.

The landfall process began near Sunderbans in West Bengal at 2.30 pm this afternoon with the entry of the front sector of the wall cloud region.

India has also been issuing a cyclone warning to Bangladesh, he informed.

So far two deaths have been reported in Kendrapara and Bhadrak during the cyclone, government officials said.

The severe cyclonic storm storm will reach Assam and Meghalaya on May 21 and it will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall in these two northeastern districts, according to IMD.