19.5.20

Severe cyclonic storm Amphan will make landfall tomorrow

The extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’ turned into a super cyclonic storm, only the second over the Bay of Bengal in two decades, and is spiralling towards Indian shores, prompting West Bengal and Odisha governments to start evacuating people from vulnerable areas.

The National Disaster Response Force has deployed 37 teams in the coastal areas of the two states, its chief S N Pradhan said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the situation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and top government officials in New Delhi.

However, the India Meteorological Department has predicted that the storm will lose some of its intensity on the way and slam West Bengal as a very severe cyclonic storm during the landfall between Digha in the state and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh on Wednesday evening.

It will still have a maximum sustained windspeed of 165 to 175 kmph gusting up to 185 kmph.

Thousands were evacuated from coastal areas of Odisha where Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore were likely to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by high-velocity winds, particularly on May 19 and 20.

The meteorological department, which has issued an “orange message” for West Bengal, warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

Around 40,000 people have already been evacuated from South 24 Parganas district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured all possible central assistance to the states likely to be hit by the cyclone.

Amphan is only the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal after the one that savaged Odisha in 1999, claiming nearly 10,000 lives.

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