West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, said that at least 72 people have died in West Bengal due to the Amphan Cyclone. The toll has crossed 80 as of May 22. A number of coastal villages, towns, and cities, including Kolkata and Howrah, have seen the wreckage, and the trail of devastation that has damaged villages, uprooted trees, power-cut, and washed away bridges.
It has been reported that Amphan has been the most powerful cyclone to strike West Bengal in over a decade.
As per the reports, winds that gusted up to 185 km per hour and a rainstorm rush forward of around five meters that swamped all the low-lying coastal areas when the cyclone barreled in from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. The two districts – North and South 24 Parganas districts have been the worst-hit by the storm, although 5 lakh people had been vacated.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “I am sitting in the war room. My office in Nabanna is shaking. I am tackling a difficult situation on a war footing. The storm is likely to continue till midnight.”
Mamata Banerjee said a number of century-old buildings in Kolkata have been poorly damaged in the cyclone and said, “we are facing three crises: the coronavirus, the thousands of migrants who are returning home, and now the cyclone“.
Parts of the state capital Kolkata were sinking into darkness, the streets were drenched, and trees were uprooted. Kolkata and a number of other districts faced power outages at night, with power supply restored only late at night in some places.
Mamata Banerjee announced an ex-gratia amount of ₹2 lakh each for the people who lost their lives due to the cyclone. Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, said that he “has spoken to Ms Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, assuring all help from the centre.” Over one lakh people in Odisha had been moved to safer places.
Cyclone Amphan is only the second ‘super cyclone’ to form over the Bay of Bengal since 1999.