Super cyclone 'Amphan' weakens as it rolls towards Indian shores, lakhs evacuated

KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR: Super cyclone 'Amphan' weakened into an extremely severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal Tuesday afternoon as it rolled towards the Indian shores in West Bengal and Odisha where lakhs of people were evacuated from vulnerable areas and shifted to safety, officials said.
The two states are on high alert, as the cyclone, cramming high-velocity winds, triggered rains in several parts of Odisha.
Cyclone Amphan live updates
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said the cyclone lay centred over west-central Bay of Bengal, about 520 km south of Paradip in Odisha and 670 km south-southwest of Digha in West Bengal. It was moving north-northeastwards at a speed of 14 kmph.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said around three lakh people have been evacuated from the coastal areas in the state.
The evacuees, she said, have been shifted to cyclone shelters
Authorities, however, were mindful of the difficulty they could face in ensuring social distancing norms at these shelters in the state which has witnessed a surge in Covid-19 cases over the last few days.
"Indeed, there will be some problems but we will ensure that social distancing is maintained at cyclone centres," he said.
Banerjee said she will talk to the railways and ask it to not run Shramik Special trains to the state to bring back migrant labourers from Wednesday till Thursday morning as a precautionary measure.
Odisha is in a state of readiness to evacuate around 11 lakh people living in vulnerable areas, officials said. The process has already started and an unspecified number of people have been sheltered in cyclone centres.
Coastal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, and East Midnapore, including the ecologically fragile Sundarbans, in West Bengal face a serious threat of inundation and significant damage to life and property.