Kolkata, (thestates.news) The city and nearby areas were battered by heavy rain, while in the coastal resort of Digha, large waves were pounding the shore after extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, roared into West Bengal on Wednesday evening, claiming two lives.
The cyclone with wind speed of 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph, coupled with heavy rain hit the Digha coast in East Medinipur district, at around 1430 hrs. Two women were killed in Howrah district and Minakhan area of North 24 Parganas district due to uprooting of trees, an official said.
The cyclone’s impact was felt in Kolkata as medium to heavy rainfall was recorded with winds of over 100 kmph, several trees and electric poles were uprooted, causing power cut and road blockade in many areas.
Power supply has been cut off in North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, as per Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s orders, in view of Cyclone Amphan landfall.
Maximum wind speed recorded in Kolkata was 133 kmph at 1920 hrs and Howrah and Hoogly recorded maximum wind speed at 130 kmph at 1930 hrs.
Wind speed has reduced marginally at Dumdum, but Kolkata is still witnessing heavy showers.
Several roads remained blocked in Tangra area in Kolkata due to uprooting of trees. Several shops on Gabina Khatik Road and New Tangra Road have been damaged.
Traffic movement stopped on Christopher Road in the city after a live electricity wire got snapped from polls due to strong winds
Over 5,200 houses got damaged in North 24 Parganas districts in Minakhan, Haroa, Basirhat Hingalgunj and Hasnabad areas due to strong winds, said an official.
Cyclone Amphan hit the city and its adjoining districts by 1900 hrs, accompanied by strong winds with an intensity of 110-120 kmph, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, as the cyclonic storm continued its landfall.
‘Amphan is the most intense and the first super cyclone since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. We are dealing with a multi-hazard scenario as the devastating winds are expected to cause extensive damage to structures, houses and trees,’ said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of India Meteorological Department in the bulletin at 1730 hrs.
‘Super Cyclone ‘Amphan’ is currently crossing the West Bengal coast between Digha and Hatiya close to Sunderbans. Half of the eye of Super Cyclone ‘Amphan’ has entered the land and the entire eye will be over land in one hour,’ the weather agency stated.
‘We are still watching the cyclone very closely, as the work does not end with the landfall. The next 24 hours will be crucial to asses and repair the damage that will be caused. We have evacuated five lakh people in West Bengal to cyclone shelters, and another 1,58,640 people in Odisha.
‘We have based our preparedness on cyclone Fani and our teams are equipped with satellite communications, plenty of tree and pole cutters,’ Mr Mohaparta added.(uni)
