Cyclone Amphan Fury in West Bengal: 3 Dead, Several Houses Battered, Power Cut Off in Kolkata
Winds in the state capital touched the speed of around 110-120 kmph, and were feared to gush at around 135 kmph by around midnight. Trees and poles across several parts of Kolkata were fallen, and would require clearances to resume traffic movement on Thursday.
Kolkata, May 20: The Amphan cyclone unleashed its fury in West Bengal hours after landfall on Wednesday. The severe cyclonic storm, stated to be the most intense since 1999, battered the state leaving over 5,500 houses damaged. The death toll had climbed to three by the time this report was published, and power supply had been cut off in Kolkata due to the impact of cyclone. Cyclone Amphan Tracker and Live News Updates.
Winds in the state capital touched the speed of around 110-120 kmph, and were feared to gush at nearly 135 kmph by around midnight. Trees and poles across several parts of Kolkata were uprooted, and would require clearances to resume traffic movement on Thursday.
Out of the three deaths reported in Bengal so far, two were recorded in North 24 Parganas district, and one in Howrah. Out of the deceased, two were reported to women who had died to felling of trees.
"5,500 houses damaged, 2 persons dead and 2 severely injured in North 24 Parganas, as per 7 pm," said the report submitted by Bibek Vasme, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Basi. The third casualty in Howrah was also confirmed by officials.
Amphan cyclone made landfall at around 4 pm between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh. Ahead of the feared landfall, the state governments of Bengal and Odisha had evacuated an estimated 6.58 lakh people based in vulnerable spots and coastal areas.
"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph," said the statement issued by India Meteorological Department (IMD).
NDRF chief S N Pradhan told a press conference in New Delhi that 20 teams of the federal disaster response force had already begun road clearing operations in Odisha, while the 19 units deployed in West Bengal were shifting people to safety.
Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, has left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its destructive path over the Bay of Bengal.
Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.
The rains and high-velocity winds will ebb away in Odisha by late Wednesday night by when the cyclone will likely have caused massive damage to standing crops, plantations and infrastructure, IMD Director Mrityunjay Mohapatra said. The turbulence will likely extend to Assam and Meghalaya, triggering heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2020 10:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).