Amphan strikes Bengal-Odisha coast, four killed, seven lakh displaced

- The number of deaths due to caution is limited: strong winds, heavy rains blew off roofs, uprooted trees

- Chance of a hurricane dispersing today

- 20 NDRF teams working, 8 more ready: 20 lakh relocated to Bangladesh

Kolkata / Bhubaneswar, Ta. 20 May 2020, Wednesday

The hurricane Amphan, which formed on May 15 in the Bay of Bengal, struck the coast of Bengal-Odisha, Bangladesh today as a super cyclone. The hurricane reached the coast almost in the evening, but before that heavy rain and strong winds began to blow. According to the meteorological department, wind speeds of up to 300 kmph were observed in some places. Wind speeds slowed after a hurricane struck the coast.

Four deaths were reported by evening due to the hurricane, which was already on high alert. Earlier, about seven lakh people from the two states were evacuated by the National Disaster Response Force and other teams. According to the meteorological department, the cyclone landfall took about four hours. The storm is likely to weaken and dissipate by the evening of the 21st.

The worst affected areas were Digha in West Bengal and Hatia Island in Bangladesh. In many places here in the riparian area the trees were uprooted, the electricity pylons fell, while the raw roof of the house, the leaves flew in the air. Huge sea socks were also seen colliding on the shores of Digha. More than 50 teams of the force, including the NDRF, have been working on the ground for weeks to reduce the damage caused by the hurricane. Machinery was immediately deployed to clear the road where trees fell or other obstacles arose. In addition, another 3 teams are on standby in Calcutta. Each NDRF team usually consists of 3 persons.

Due to the hurricane, sea water is likely to penetrate up to 5 km inland to the coast. This is likely to cause massive damage to the Sundarbans ecosystem, tigers and other living things.

In addition to Digha, the hurricane affected most of the coastal areas of Kolkata, Bengal, the islands of the Sundarbans, 6 Parganas district, East Midnapore, etc. Roads in Kolkata were flooded due to rains. Cuttack, Jajpur, Ganjam, Balasore, Puri, Kendrapada, etc. areas of Odisha were also adversely affected. In Kendrapada, a pregnant woman gave birth to a baby girl in a fire service vehicle. Authorities moved the mother and daughter to safety.

Apart from India, the widespread impact of the hurricane is being felt in Bangladesh. About 3 million people were evacuated from the coast here. In the coastal area, Bangladesh has rocked the army. About 200 km of coastline of Bangladesh has been affected by the cyclone. The coast of Bangladesh is also frequently hit by hurricanes, so the government is on alert.

The eye of a hurricane is 30 kilometers!

This hurricane is huge, the idea comes from the size of its eye i.e. the central part. At the center of this hurricane is a circular 30 km diameter. It is because of its speed and size that it has been identified as a super bicycle. The entire size of the hurricane is spread over hundreds of kilometers. This is a super cyclone off the coast of India after 21 years. Even on the 19th, Odisha was hit by a super cyclone off the coast of Bengal and tens of thousands died due to poor pre-preparation and limited equipment.

Where did the name Amphan come from?

The World Meteorological Department (World Meteorological Organization) has authorized various countries to name hurricanes. But the name given to each country is used alternately. The names given by the eight countries of the Indian Ocean have been used since 2006. Amphan was given the name by Thailand in 2006. It was used when the hurricane began to form on April 9. Amphan means sky.

The most powerful hurricane reported in the Bay of Bengal: US Agency

According to the US Center for Hurricane Typhoon, this is the strongest hurricane ever to form in the Bay of Bengal. The Typhoon Center on the island of Hawaii recorded a speed of up to 300 kilometers per hour on the night of May 14. No hurricane speed has been recorded before. The maximum speed of the 13th hurricane was also 30 kmph.