Cyclone Amphan, the strongest storm on record in the Bay of Bengal, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening, and heavy rain and strong winds has started battering India’s coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal.
More than four hundred thousand people have been evacuated from the coastal areas in both the states, scroll.in reported quoting NDTV.
The West Bengal government issued a red alert across several districts and advised all traders in Kolkata and adjacent South Bengal districts to keep shops closed. Amphan, which weakened from a super cyclone to an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” on Tuesday, now lay centred about 120km east-southeast of Paradip, Odisha.
All operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended till Thursday 5pm, including the special flights, ANI reported.
The India Meteorological Department in Kolkata said the storm is likely to retain its intensity till Thursday morning. Amphan is expected to pack winds gusting up to 185 kilometres per hour when it crosses West Bengal’s Digha. Those living near the coast have been warned against stepping out. Residents have been advised to remain indoors.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said people should stay indoors from Wednesday morning until an all-clear was sounded. “The tail-end of a cyclone can do worst damage, so people should not come out of their homes until they get an all-clear,” she had said on Tuesday.
India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said since Amphan is gradually weakening, it is unlikely to have severe impact in Odisha.
However, coastal districts like Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore may experience heavy rain along with high-speed winds. Odisha, which was praised for its handling of Cyclone Fani last year, had said earlier that it was prepared to evacuate over a million people.
Forty teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in West Bengal and Odisha to deal with emergencies. NDRF chief SN Pradhan on Tuesday said both West Bengal and Odisha authorities have been asked to maintain physical distancing in cyclone shelters. “If a shelter has space for 1,000, then only 500 should be allowed,” Pradhan told NDTV.
On Tuesday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to chief ministers of West Bengal and Odisha over phone. He assured all support from the central government to Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik.
This came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review the response measures and preparedness to tackle the storm. “I pray for everyone’s safety and assure all possible support from the Central Government,” Modi had tweeted after the meeting.