Cyclone Amphan Can Cause Large-Scale Damage: Top Weather Official

Cyclone Amphan is a very intense storm which can wreak large-scale damage, India Meteorological Department Director General M Mohapatra said on Monday.

Amphan has intensified into a super cyclonic storm and is expected to make a landfall on May 20 between the Digha islands in West Bengal and Hatia islands of Bangladesh, Mohapatra said at a press briefing.

"Cyclone Amphan is very intense. It has the potential to wreak large-scale damage," Mr Mohapatra said.

It is likely to de-intensify to an extremely severe cyclonic storm when it makes a landfall. The wind speed during the landfall is likely to be 165-175 kilometres per hour gusting upto 195 kilometres per hour.

"It is very likely to move north-northeastwards across northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal - Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans during the afternoon / evening of May 20 as an extremely severe cyclonic storm," Mr Mohapatra said.

He added that the coastal districts of West Bengal will receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on May 19 and 20. This includes East Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata in West Bengal.

Storm surge of about 4-6 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3-4 metres over the low lying areas of East Medinipur district of West Bengal during the time of landfall.

Coastal Odisha is likely to experience light to moderate rainfall at many places. Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over north coastal Odisha -- Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts-- and isolated heavy falls over Khordha and Puri districts on May 19.

Isolated heavy rainfall is expected over north Odisha -- Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Keonjhar districts -- on May 20.