Cyclone Amphan Highlights: Impact Worse Than Coronavirus: Mamata Banerjee On Cyclone Amphan

The impact of Cyclone Amphan on West Bengal has been worse than the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said this evening after the extremely severe cyclonic storm pounded Bengal, killing three people, damaging buildings and uprooting trees. Damages due to Amphan, she said, could be worth Rs 1 lakh crore.

Ms Banerjee, addressing a press conference in Kolkata, said three people have died, but that number may rise to 10 or 12. She said the North and South 24 Parganas districts were the worst hit and that Bengal "will have to re-build everything".

Kolkata and nearby areas are witnessing winds of over 100 kmph and pounding rain after Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, made landfall this evening in West Bengal towards Sunderbans, a marshy region famous for its mangroves.

Three people have died and many buildings in Kolkata were damaged.

The eye of the cyclone, 30 km in diameter, has touched land, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said. 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

The storm had weakened from a super cyclone to an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday and triggered strong winds and rain in parts of Odisha and Bengal. This is the second pre-monsoon cyclone to hit India in two years and has been anticipated as one of the worst storm over Bay of Bengal in decades.

It has hit Bengal at a time when restrictions are in place due to coronavirus. On Tuesday, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) chief SN Pradhan told reporters they face the "double challenge" of the coronavirus pandemic and a natural disaster.

Forty teams of the NDRF have been deployed in West Bengal and Odisha to deal with any emergency situation, Mr Pradhan said, adding that Amphan is "a second disaster coming amid COVID-19 pandemic" and it needs continuous monitoring.

Here are the Highlights on Cyclone AMPHAN: