Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal and Odisha this evening, bringing with it heavy rain, winds and waves. Over five lakh people have been taken to shelters in West Bengal and over one lakh in Odisha, the National Disaster Response Force (NRDF) chief said today in a press briefing. NDRF chief SN Pradhan on Tuesday told reporters they face the "double challenge" of the coronavirus pandemic and a natural disaster. Amphan is expected to pack winds gusting up to 185 kilometres per hour when it crosses West Bengal's Digha and Hatiya island of Bangladesh where around 20 million have been moved to over 12,000 shelters. Amphan is only the second "super cyclone" to form in the northeastern Indian Ocean since records began. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she will ask the railways to stop running special "Shramik" trains for migrants to the state till Thursday. The cyclonic storm is likely to cross West Bengal's Digha and Bangladesh's Hatiya today.
Residents walk along a street to a shelter ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan in Digha.
Odisha fishermen pull boat ahead of cyclone landfall. Amphan weakened from a super cyclone to an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" on Tuesday, causing strong winds and heavy rain in parts of Odisha and Bengal as it advanced towards the Indian coast.
Villagers reinforce an embankment with sacks of soil ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan, in Dacope.
A man looks out as waves hit a breakwater at Kasimedu fishing harbour in Chennai as Cyclone Amphan barrels towards India's eastern coast.
A man rides a bicycle under the rain ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan in Midnapore, West Bengal.
People cross a river on a boat ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan, in Khulna.
People walk with an umbrella under the rain ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan.
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