India cyclone causes severe damages at east coast |
The very severe cyclonic storm Amphan, wreaked havoc as it hit the coast of Indian state of West Bengal with devastating force around 2:30 pm Indian standard time on Wednesday. The cyclone, accompanied by extremely heavy rains, pounded the coast with winds of 155-165 kmph gusting up to 190kmph, uprooting trees, ripping away roofs, damaging cropland, tossing away boats, and inundating 15km inland. The landfall process lasted for 4 to 5 hours and by 7 pm the storm was over the land. By the time the cyclone hit West Bengal capital Kolkata, and districts of Hooghly and Howrah, the wind speed fell to 110-120 kmph gusting up to 135kmph. Massive storm surges rising up to 4 metres above the astronomical tides overwhelmed coastal areas, as water rushed through rivulets, worsening the damage. The cyclone has left the Kolkata International Airport flooded with most of the runways and hangars submerged in water. Regions of North and South 24 Pargana, and East Medinipur districts witnessed the most devastation. More than 500,000 people had already been evacuated from the coastal regions of West Bengal. As many as 150,000 people were also evacuated from Odisha, mainly Bhadrak, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Mayurbhanj, where India`s National Disaster Relief Force deployed over 20 teams.
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