Cyclone Amphan To Hit Bengal Between 4 And 6 PM, Heavy Rain Along Coast: 10 Points

More than 5 lakh people have been evacuated to safety in Odisha and Bengal, said National Disaster Response Force chief SN Pradhan, together with that the storm is “a double challenge” for the nation amid battle in opposition to coronavirus. “Forty-one teams of NDRF are on duty. Evacuating people is a double challenge. We have to ensure social distancing during these operations,” Mr Pradhan suggested NDTV in the mean time. 

In Kolkata, the airport has been shut till 5 am tomorrow after city, close to the coast, was positioned on alert. Visuals confirmed strong winds and winds battering coastal elements along with Paradip in Odisha and South 24 Paraganas in Bengal. Seven districts of Bengal usually tend to face the direct impression of the cyclone. 

A storm surge – as extreme as 5 metres above the astronomical tide – will inundate the low-lying coastal areas in Bengal, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra has said.

Describing the weak areas as “red plus zones”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said she would hold in a single day throughout the administration room tonight.

Those residing near the coast have been warned in opposition to stepping out; fishermen have been warned to stay off coast. Mamata Banerjee said they should hold in till an all-clear was sounded on Thursday. “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 said, recalling that when Cyclone Fani hit remaining 12 months, further died when the cyclone was leaving.

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Ministers of Bengal and Odisha – Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik – on cellphone, assuring all of them the help from the central authorities.

In a press launch, the Indian Meteorological Department has warned of flying objects, uprooting {of electrical} power poles and boats getting torn away. The division says a storm surge of a peak of about four-six metres above the astronomical tide will inundate the low-lying coastal areas in Bengal. 

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a high-level meeting to guage the response measures and preparedness to type out the storm. “Reviewed the preparedness regarding the situation due to cyclone ‘Amphan.’ The response measures as well as evacuation plans were discussed. I pray for everyone’s safety and assure all possible support from the Central Government,” PM Modi tweeted after the meeting.

“Amphan”, pronounced as “Um-pun”, means sky. The title was given by Thailand in 2004, years previously. The storm is being regularly tracked by Doppler Weather Radar at Vishakhapatnam. 

Odisha was hit by an excellent cyclone that left virtually 10,000 ineffective in 1999, eight years after a storm, tornadoes and flooding killed 1,39,000 in Bangladesh. While the storms’ frequency and depth have elevated – blamed partly on native climate change – deaths have fallen as a result of sooner evacuations, greater forecasting and additional shelters, data firm AFP reported.