With severe cyclonic storm Amphan beginning landfall on Wednesday afternoon near Sunderbans in West Bengal, more than 5 lakh people have been evacuated from nearby coastal areas in the state and another 1,58,640 people have been removed to safer areas in neighbouring Odisha, NDRF Director General SN Pradhan said.
“Based on experiences during Cyclone Fani, all NDRF teams are equipped with tree cutters/pole cutters for post landfall restoration, if need arises. We have deployed at least 24 NDRF teams to begin restoration work,” Pradhan said
The landfall process has triggered intense rain and gusty winds and will continue for about four hours, according to IMD.
“Cyclone Amphan is expected to reach Kolkata by this evening,” the IMD chief said.
“The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process began was recorded at 160-170 kmph, increasing to about 190 kmph,” according to IMD data.
In Odisha too, heavy rainfall and strong winds are lashing Chandipur in Balasore district and Jagatsinghpur.
Heavy rain and strong winds have affected several districts as of noon in Gangetic West Bengal increasing in intensity with each passing hour after landfall.
At 3:05 pm, the wind speed at Kolkata airport was recorded at 76 km per hour, the meteorological office said.
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