Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting West Bengal and Odisha tomorrow to survey the ground situation after Cyclone Amphan clobbered the eastern states, leaving at least 72 dead and blowing up shanties, uprooting thousands of trees and swamping low-lying areas.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the Prime Minister to visit the state to review the situation.
The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone will dissipate into a deep depression and a depression, the two stages that signify a further weakening of the cyclone, in the next few hours.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had earlier advised people against going out until government's green signal.
It also said that thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and squall is likely over Bihar; with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and Meghalaya.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had been monitoring the situation at state secretariat Nabanna on Tuesday night, said the impact of Amphan was "worse than coronavirus" and claimed damages due to the cyclone could be in the region of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Here are the updates on Cyclone Amphan:
At Least 12 Dead As Cyclone Amphan Wrecks Parts Of Bengal
Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, has killed 12 people in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
The powerful cyclone destroyed thousands of homes, leaving authorities struggling to mount relief efforts amid the coronavirus crisis. Bengal took the brunt of Cyclone Amphan, which barreled into the coast with gusting winds of up to 185 km per hour.
Ms Banerjee said the impact of Amphan was worse than the coronavirus pandemic and claimed damages due to the cyclone could be in the region of Rs 1 lakh crore. Over five lakh people had been taken to shelters in Bengal and over one lakh in Odisha. (Read full story
here)