‘Cyclone Amphan’ lashes West Bengal, Odisha: 12 dead

‘Cyclone Amphan’ hit the coast of West Bengal and Odisha on Wednesday after causing severe damage and havoc across both states. Twelve people have reportedly died in various rain related accidents in West Bengal. Both the states witnessed heavy rains and winds of over 100 km/hr. Thousands of houses were damaged in both the states. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the death toll is expected to rise.

Rainfall was reported at Cuttack, Ganjam, Kendrapara, Puri, Khurda and Jagatsinghpur. Many trees were uprooted which led to traffic jams across Kolkata city. Videos of winds lashing across the states causing havoc was widely shared on social media too.

Over five lakh and one lakh people were evacuated from West Bengal and Odisha respectively. They were moved to shelter camps on Tuesday itself. West Bengal is one of the Indian states with most number of Coronavirus cases. With ‘Cyclone Amphan’ hitting at this time, the state is moving to a huge crisis.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had correctly predicted onset of the cyclone to Indian coasts. This helped in evacuation processes which saved lakhs of people.

In 1999, Odisha was hit by a super cyclone which led to the death of over 10,000 people. ‘Cyclone Amphan’ is the next big cyclone to hit the coast after 20 years.

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