Heavy rain and strong wind battered Kolkata in West Bengal, and districts in coastal Odisha as the super cyclone Amphan hurtled West Bengal coast for landfall. The landfall is expected to take place between May 20 afternoon and evening near the Sundarbans.
Parts of Odisha saw extensive damage as trees were uprooted and power infrastructure damaged due to strong wind.
Here are the latest updates:
Cyclone Amphan to completely enter land by 7 p.m.
Cyclone Amphan is currently crossing the West Bengal coast near the Sunderbans and will reach Kolkata by evening, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said as the storm was making a landfall.
He said strong winds with an intensity of 160 kilometres per hour have commenced in coastal West Bengal districts.
“The first arm of Cyclone Amphan has touched the land. The eye of the cyclone is expected to touch land anytime,” he said.
“Landfall process started at 2.30 p.m. with the entry of the front sector of the wall cloud region,” he said.
The width of the wall cloud is around 120 kilometres and the diameter of the eye is about 40 kilometres. The rear side is about 120 kilometres and the entire process will be completed by 3-4 hours.
South and North 24 Parganas will witness a lull as the eye of cyclone passes through, but heavy rains, strong winds will resume in the next 30 minutes.
“We are hopeful that by 7 p.m. the entire cyclone will enter the land,” he added.
Mr. Mohapatra also asserted that the forecast of the cyclone was accurate.
India has also been issuing cyclone warning to Bangladesh, he added.
Situation related to Cyclone Amphan fast transforming: NDRF DG
“The situation is fast-transforming. Our duty becomes even more now and after the cyclone. It is a long haul,” National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General S.N. Pradhan said, adding that the NDRF is keeping a close watch on cyclone Amphan.
“All teams have wireless and satellite communications. We are not dependent on any communication system. It is another form of new normal, we have to handle disasters considering the pandemic too. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 scenario, all teams are equipped with PPE,” the NDRF DG said.
Mr. Pradhan said deployment is more in districts which are facing more pressure.
He said the NDRF’s headquarters and local commandants are in coordination with state authorities.
“Based on experiences during Cyclone FANI, all the teams are equipped with tree cutters and pole cutters for post landfall restoration, if the need arises,” Mr. Pradhan said.
The eye of Cyclone is just about to touch land, says IMD
Maximum intensity of rains in WB today. Rains to subside from tomorrow. Storm surges upto 5m expected.
We expect windspeed of 165 kmph in South and North 24 Parganas, WB.
Amphan is entering West Bengal, near the Sunderbans. It's trajectory is conforming to what we had predicted, says M Mohapatra, DG, IMD.
Impact of Cyclone waa felt in Odisha from yesterday. Today 106 kmph winds were registered in Odisha. Heavy rains registered in Balasore. It's now 360 km south of Paradip, 510 km south-southwest of Digha.
We expect windspeed of 165 kmph in South and North 24 Parganas, WB. Gusting to 185 kmph.
The eye of Cyclone is just about to touch land.
Cyclone Amphan uproots trees, flattens houses in Odisha
Cyclone “Amphan” left a trail of destruction in Odisha as it triggered heavy downpour coupled with high-velocity winds while hurtling towards the West Bengal coast, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said.
More than 1.41 lakh people living in low-lying areas and thatched and mud houses in the vulnerable coastal regions were evacuated and shifted to cyclone shelters, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P.K. Jena said.
The evacuees were accommodated in 2,921 shelters where cooked food and other facilities were provided, he said, adding that the cyclone developed and moved as per the IMD forecast.
“It took exactly the path forecast by them. I must thank the IMD, particularly its Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, as their accurate predictions enabled us handle the situation ably,” the SRC said.
Intense rainfall in several areas of Odisha
As the cyclone passed along the Odisha coast, it unleashed intense rainfall in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.
Though two deaths were reported in Kendrapara and Bhadrak during the cyclone, the exact reasons are being ascertained, officials said.
A three-month-old child died in Tihidi area of Bhadrak and a team has been sent to the village, they said, adding the exact cause will be ascertained after an autopsy.
A 67-year-old woman died in her house due to natural causes. She was living in a pucca RCC roof house and the cause of death is being ascertained, they added.
Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma said ₹12,000 was given as immediate relief and detailed inquiry will be conducted.
As per initial reports, a large number of trees and electric poles have been uprooted, while many thatched and mud houses were flattened due to the cyclonic storm, the SRC said.
No major damage has been done to the telecommunications infrastructure and the services remained by and large unaffected, he said.
The process of landfall has begun, says Directer General, NDRF.
As many as 20 teams in Odisha and 19 in West Bengal have been stationed. All teams have wireless and satellites communications. A special team is in Kolkata, being a major urban centre, he says.
All teams are equipped with tree cutters and pole cutters, he adds.
Over 5 lakh have been evacuated in Bengal, while 158640 people are in camps in Odisha. Several awareness activities are in progress in both these States.
Observed and forecast track of cyclone Amphan | Photo Credit: Courtesy IMD
Cyclone Amphan has commenced 'landfall', says an afternoon update by the IMD. The process will take four hours.
The forward structure of cyclone has made the landfall near Sagar Island in Sunderbans, according to Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore, Kolkata.
The wind speed in the Sunderbans is about 140 kmph, while the wind speed in Kolkata is 70 kmph.
Bangladesh shifts over two million people
Bangladesh has shifted over two million people to storm shelters and deployed its military to deal with cyclone ‘Amphan’. Authorities have already raised the alert level to ‘great danger’ for some districts in the country.
The Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force have made preparations to tackle the super cyclone which has moved within 400km of Bangladesh’s coast and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening. - PTI
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi special AC train to run through diverted route
The AC Special Express train which left for New Delhi from Bhubaneswar on Wednesday will run on a diverted route skipping the Bhadrak-Kharagpr line, while goods traffic was affected in Odisha because of the cyclone.
The train took the diverted route of Sambalpur City- Jharsugud-Rourkela-Tatanagar instead of the normal route via Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli Kharagpur-Tata, a railway official said.
Similarly, inward goods traffic was stopped to Dhamra Port. Outward goods traffic from Dhamra Port was also suspended after departure of the last goods train to Tatanagar on Tuesday. - PTI
Amid chaos of cyclone Amphan in Odisha, woman gives birth to baby in fire service van
A woman gave birth to a baby girl inside a fire service van while being shifted to hospital in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, which recorded heavy and strong winds under the impact of super cyclone ‘Amphan’ on Wednesday morning
The dramatic scenes of the woman being rescued, clearing of a road that was blocked by fallen trees and admission of the mother and baby in a hospital were shot by Odisha fire service personnel, who played a key role in the rescue act.
About 4.5 lakh people evacuated from Odisha, WB
About 4.5 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable area in West Bengal and Odisha ahead of the landfall of cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’, NDRF chief S.N. Pradhan said on Wednesday.
Issuing a video message update, the chief of the the federal contingency force said rescue forces and administration are concerned and geared to tackle a storm surge or tidal waves up to 4-6 metres high as it is a new moon night or ‘amavasya’.
As per data received from the state governments, he added, about 1.20-1.25 lakh people have been evacuated in Odisha and about 3.30 lakh in West Bengal in view of the cyclone.
- PTI
Amphan to make landfall in hours, remain over gangetic WB till Thursday morning
Super cyclone Amphan is likely to make a landfall along the West Bengal coast in the next few hours, officials of Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore said on Wednesday.
“The landfall of the cyclonic storm is likely to be in afternoon evening close to the Sunderbans. After landfall it will move north and north east direction and will pass over eastern parts of Kolkata,” Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Director General of Meteorology Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, said.
He said that after the landfall the cyclonic storm will remain over gangetic West Bengal in different intensities till Thursday morning.
Kolkata witnessed heavy and continuous downpour since Wednesday afternoon. Streets remain deserted as annoucements continue to be made requesting people to stay indoors.
Landfall to commence from afternoon
Cyclone Amphan is 125 km south-southeast of Digha in West Bengal, according to the latest update from IMD at 11.30 a.m.
It is expected to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya Islands in Bangladesh, close to Sunderbans.
The landfall process will commence from afternoon, said the update.
Heavy downpour, high velocity winds pound Odisha
As cyclone “Amphan” hurtled towards the coast, heavy downpour coupled with high velocity winds pounded coastal Odisha, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said on Wednesday.
More than 1.25 lakh people have so far been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas and the process of evacuation was still underway in some places like Balasore on Wednesday morning, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P.K. Jena, said.
Water rises in Baitarani river due to high tide as cyclone Amphan approaches Odisha-Bengal coast | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout
Amphan likely to bring isolated rain to coastal A.P.
Even as the super cyclonic storm Amphan spared the State, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are likely to experience isolated heavy falls under its influence during the next 24 hours, the meteorology officials said on Tuesday.
The weather system over the Bay of Bengal moved north-east wards and lay centred as an extremely severe cyclonic storm 360 km off Paradip in Odisha and 510 km off Digha in West Bengal on Tuesday.
Rapid response teams to keep eye on tiger movement in Sundarbans
With cyclone ‘Amphan’ set to lash the coastal areas of West Bengal on Wednesday, the State Forest department on Tuesday formed rapid response teams to ensure that tigers from Sundarbans in South 24 Parganas district do not stray into nearby human settlements after the landfall.
Chief Wildlife Warden Ravi Kant Sinha said a control room had been set up at Gosaba in the district to monitor the situation in the mangrove jungles 24x7.
Though a thorough assessment of damage caused by the cyclone is to be made, there are reports of many trees being uprooted from different areas of Odisha.
Trees were uprooted in the heavy winds as cyclone Amphan hits the coast near Chandabali in Bhadrak district of Odisha | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Raut
Cargo flight operations at Kolkata Airport suspended till 5 a.m. Thursday
Cargo and evacuation flight operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended till 5 am of Thursday due to the cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’, airport officials said.
“Due to the cyclone, flight operations at Kolkata airport has been suspended till 5 am of May 21,” a senior airport official said.
The cyclone lay centred about 240 km south of Digha in West Bengal on Wednesday morning as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, the Met department said here.
Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express cancelled
The departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express for Wednesday has been cancelled owing to the super cyclone ‘Amphan’, the Eastern Railway said here.
It said that since the system is most likely to cause heavy rain and storm, the departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express on Wednesday and 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on May 21 would remain cancelled.
The Met department in an advisory asked for stoppage or diversion of train movements owing to damage likely to be caused by the super cyclonic storm. - PTI
Did the coronavirus lockdown have an impact on the cyclone?
Higher than normal temperatures in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) may be whetting ‘super cyclones’ and the lockdown, indirectly, may have played a role, meteorologists and atmospheric science experts told The Hindu.
A researcher said the elevated ocean temperatures this year could, in part, be explained by the lockdown. Reduced particulate matter emissions during the lockdown meant fewer aerosols, such as black carbon, that are known to reflect sunlight and heat away from the surface.
Migrant trains to Bengal, Odisha cancelled in view of cyclone
As a precautionary measure in the backdrop of ‘Amphan’ cyclone, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced that three Shramik Special trains for West Bengal and Odisha have been cancelled till May 21.
These trains were to carry migrant workers to West Bengal and Odisha. Further announcement regarding running these trains will be taken after assessing the weather and other necessary conditions, said an official. - PTI
(With inputs from Agencies)