Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Extremely severe cyclone ‘Amphan’ hurtled Wednesday towards the coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal. Cyclone Amphan has triggered heavy downpours in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal. In the process trees have been uprooted and fragile buildings have been flattened. So far over four lakh people have been evacuated in the two states of West Bengal and Odisha. Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm is still creating havoc in parts of the two states. It is expected to make the landfall soon.
Evacuation process
More than 1.25 lakh people have so far been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas of Odisha. The exercise is still under way in some places like Balasore, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said Wednesday in Bhubaneswar. More than three lakh people have already been removed to safer places in West Bengal.
Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday evening.
Current location of storm
The storm is lying about 110 km east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, 125 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and nearly 220 km south of Kolkata. However, its effects are already in evidence in the two states.
Landfall locality
‘Amphan’ is likely to make a landfall somewhere between Digha and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh close to the Sunderbans. It should be stated here that Hatiya Islands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landfall is expected between afternoon and evening of Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The intensity near the centre of the storm is 170 kmph to 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph, the weatherman said. It added that gale-force winds of 110-120 kmph will slam Kolkata when the cyclone passes over it in a short while.
Cyclone ‘Amphan’ will turn into a deep depression while advancing to Bangladesh and dissipate further.
The NDRF, the federal disaster response force, has deployed a total of 41 teams, including reserves, in the two states. They will supervise relief and rescue operations in West Bengal and Odisha.
Continuous monitoring
A Bhubaneswar report said the cyclonic system is being continuously monitored with the help of Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Vishakhapatnam, Paradip and Gopalpur.
Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha PK Jena said reports of trees getting uprooted and huts being damaged and blown away have been received from several districts.
‘Amphan’ has hit Odisha just a little over after a year after cyclone Fani wreaked havoc May 3. Cyclone Fani had claimed close to 64 lives and destroyed vital infrastructure.
PNN & Agencies