Cyclone Amphan claims at least 12 lives in West Bengal

Team Udayavani, May 21, 2020, 8:40 AM IST

Kolkata: Cheif Minister Mamata Banerjee said that there were reports of at least 10-12 deaths and claimed damage due to the damage in the region could be Rs. 1 lakh crore due to the Cyclone Amphan that hit the Bay of Bengal on May 20.

She also added that it would take a few more days to assess the extent of the damage and destruction.

“If we had not evacuated 5 Lakh citizens in the region, the impact would have been more severe,” she added.

Mamata said that the south and north 24-Parganas had been ravaged and appealed to the Central government to treat the calamity in a human way and not politically.

Severe cyclone storm Amphan hit the Bay of Bengal with the wind speed of up to 185 km claimed 10 to 12 lives on Wednesday, May 20.

The cyclone made landfall at 2.30 p.m. between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, flattening fragile dwellings, uprooting trees and electric poles.

The Sunderbans region of Odisha received the worst impact of Amphan and South Bengal districts received the impact of winds at a speed of 155-165kmph with heavy rain.

Mobile and broadband networks stopped in many neighborhoods of Kolkata without power till late at night.

As per sources, no loss of life reported in Odisha.

Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan took to twitter and wrote, “A glimpse of Super Cyclone Amphan making a #landfall at Sundarbans. Prayers for people of Odisha and WestBengal. Stay alert and safe!”

A glimpse of Super #CycloneAmphan making a #landfall at #Sundarbans. Prayers for people of #Odisha and #WestBengal. Stay alert and safe!#AmphanSuperCyclone #CycloneAmphanUpdate #Amphan @moesgov #kolkata @Indiametdept @rajeevan61 pic.twitter.com/iHVHgQHpJ2

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) May 20, 2020

The cyclone had impacted Bangladesh, as well as 3 people, died due to the impact and more than 10 lakh people lost power connection.

The meteorologists said that the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, was likely to absorb the main brunt of the Amphan onslaught as it did many times over the centuries, including that of the recent major storms.

Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather on Tuesday described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999.