Cyclone Amphan: About 4.5L evacuated from Odisha, WB; Bangla shifts over 20L people

PTI, May 20, 2020, 1:06 PM IST

New Delhi: About 4.5 lakh people have been evacuated from the vulnerable areas in West Bengal and Odisha ahead of the landfall of cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’, NDRF chief S N Pradhan said on Wednesday.

‘Amphan’, termed as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday noon or evening at a coastal area between West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Issuing a video message update, the chief of 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 meters 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.

“As per ground reports received till this morning, rains and winds are being experienced in affected areas of Odisha and West Bengal,” Pradhan said.

The DG said that the windspeed being experienced right now is about 100 km per hour and it is expected to increase further in the day.

“The states have been informed about the storm surge and tidal waves situation and “we are preparing accordingly,” he said.

“We hope all will go well and action will be taken as per strategy,” he said.

The NDRF has deployed a total of 41 teams, including reserves, in the two states for relief and rescue works in wake of the cyclone.

As many as 15 teams have been deployed and five are in reserve for seven districts of Odisha, while 19 teams are actively deployed and two in reserve for six districts of West Bengal, the NDRF chief had said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh has shifted over two million people to storm shelters and deployed its military to deal with cyclone ‘Amphan’ as the powerful weather system is set to make landfall, authorities said on Wednesday.

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, Bdnews24.com reported.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall in Bangladesh at 6 pm on Wednesday, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman was quoted as saying by the report.

Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather on Tuesday described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, fearing the “ferocious” storm to unleash extreme impacts across Bangladeshi and northeastern Indian coastlines.