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Cyclone Amphan Live: Govt warns of heavy damage along West Bengal coast
Cyclonic storm Amphan is likely to intensify into a super cyclone by Monday evening and unleash heavy rains coupled with high-velocity winds in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal.
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PTI photo New Delhi: Cyclonic storm Amphan is likely to intensify into a super cyclone by Monday evening and unleash heavy rains coupled with high-velocity winds in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation arising out of cyclone 'Amphan'. Among those present at the meeting were Union Minister Amit Shah and officials of MHA, NDMA and NDRF. The meeting took place at PM Modi's official residence at 4 pm.
Stay tuned to the live blog of Zee News for latest updates on Cyclone Amphan:
Destruction in Kerala:
Heavy rain and winds caused massive destruction in Vaikom and surrounding areas of Kerala. Around one hundred houses were damaged after trees fell over it, caused by the storm. More than a hundred electricity posts were also damaged.
A portion of the Mahadeva temple was damaged in the heavy rains and wind. The rooftop tiles of temple Oottupura, Devaswom office, Committee office flew away in the storm
. Heavy rains are continuing in various parts of Kerala causing inconvenience for the public as traffic along the NH has been halted in many parts and widespread destruction reported in various parts of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Idukky and Alappuzha.
We don't want to take Cyclone Amphan lightly as it's only the second time that India is witnessing super cyclone: NDRF
We have dedicated 53 teams, including those on standby, for cyclone Amphan affected Odisha, West Bengal: NDR
It's a dual challenge as cyclone Amphan is striking during COVID-19 outbreak; We are taking all precautions: NDRF
Teams of disaster management department, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) have been sent to the vulnerable areas: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said all precautionary steps, including evacuation of people from coastal areas, have been taken to deal with any eventuality arising out of cyclone Amphan, which is fast approaching the the state.
The India Meteorological Department has warned of a storm surge of a height of about four-six metres above the astronomical tide, which would inundate the low-lying coastal areas of South and North 24 parganas, and three-four metres in East Medinipur at the time of landfall, the statement said.
The storm is also likely to impact the coastal districts of north Odisha, including Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore.
In West Bengal, districts of East Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata in are likely to be worst affected due to cyclone Amphan.
ECoR takes steps for smooth running of trains
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has initiated steps to meet any eventuality due to the cyclone Amphan, said an official on Monday. ECoR has planned for early restoration of train traffic and railway track, if affected by Amphan. A 24X7 disaster management cell has been opened at ECoR headquarters at Rail Sadan here and at the divisional headquarters at Visakhapatnam, Khurda Road, and Sambalpur, said the official.
When Cyclone Amphan makes landfall on May 20 morning or noon it will be an extremely severe cyclonic storm: NDRF chief S N Pradhan.
We request affected states of Odisha and West Bengal to undertake required measures. These states already working on it: NDRF DG Pradhan.
Cyclone Amphan: Ferry Services suspended across all districts of Bengal in the wake of approaching Cyclone Amphan.
People living within five kilometres of the coastline and in vulnerable areas will also be evacuated and the entire process completed by Tuesday. Arrangements have already been made to shift over 11 lakh people to cyclone shelters, said director of the meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar.
Supercyclone Amphan comes a year after Cyclone Fani barrelled across vast areas of Odisha on May 3, 2019, claiming at least 64 lives and destroying vital infrastructure.
Cyclone Amphan will cause heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in coastal districts of West Bengal, says govt
Instructions have been given to take people living near sea beach and adjoining areas to cyclone shelters, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
The extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan over west-central and adjoining central parts of South Bay of Bengal moved nearly northwards with a speed of 04 kmph during past 06 hours, intensified further into a super cyclonic Storm and lay centred at 1130 hrs IST of today, the 18th May, 2020 over west-central and adjoining central parts of South Bay of Bengal near latitude 13.4°N and longitude 86.2 °E, about 770 km nearly south of Paradip (Odisha), 920 km south-southwest of Digha (West Bengal) and 1040 km south-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), said Kolkata MeT office.
It is very likely to move nearly northwards for some more time and then north-northeastwards across northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha and Hatiya Islands close to Sundarbans during the afternoon/evening of May 20 as an extremely severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 165-175 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.
Heavy rainfall in parts of Kerala:
Many parts of Kerala have experienced heavy rains since overnight due to the impact of super cyclone Amphan. Widespread damage was reported from Vaikom taluk in Kottayam district after strong winds accompanied by heavy rains lashed the coastal town since Sunday night.
Several trees got uprooted and fell on the electric lines and roads in Vaikom town affecting the movement of vehicles and power blackout.
PM Modi reviews preparedness:
PM Modi reviewed response preparedness, evacuation plan presented by National Disaster Response Force. During review, the Prime Minister PM told that 25 NDRF teams deployed on ground for cyclone Amphan, 12 others ready in reserve, the PMO stated.
Cyclone Amphan is likely to create even more damage. As predicted earlier by Met office, the cyclone will not report a landfall as 'Very Severe' but will report the landfall being 'Extremely Severe' Cyclone. The intensity will be more than the Met office predicted earlier.
Cyclone affect on train services:
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar AC Special train to run on diverted route for four days due to the cyclone effect.
In view of Cyclone Amphan, 02823/02824 Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar AC special train starting from Bhubaneswar from May 19-22, and starting from New Delhi from May 18-21, will run on diverted route via Bhubaneswar-Angul-Sambalpur City-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Tata bypassing Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli route.
This is for the safety and security for both passengers and trains.
Passengers going from and coming to Baleswar/Hijli (Kharagpur) will not get service of this train for 4 days.
East Coast Railways is keeping a watchful eye over developments related to the cyclone.
13 Kerala districts under yellow alert:
The IMD predicted heavy rains in Kerala on account of the extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan over west central and adjoining central parts of South Bay of Bengal moving north-north westwards, following which the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) placed 13 of the 14 districts under yellow alert.
A Yellow alert means people and authorities have to be cautious as heavy rainfall can be expected. Only the capital district has been left out from the yellow alert on Monday.
PM Modi chairs high-level meeting to review preparedness on Cyclone Amphan:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday (May 18) to review the situation due to a cyclonic threat in parts of coastal India. The meeting began at 4 pm today at the Prime Minister's official residence in the national capital.
Odisha Spl Relief Commissioner PK Jena said widespread rains are expected in coastal Odisha on Tuesday. On May 20, there could be heavy to very heavy rainfall in northern districts of Odisha, with wind speed reaching up to 110 kmph in certain parts Odisha.
Met issues orange warning for West Bengal:
The MeT department has issued an 'orange' warning for West Bengal, saying Cyclone Amphan is likely to cross the state in the afternoon or evening of May 20 as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph before losing some steam ahead of landfall.
Kashmir: Five doctors in Kashmir, including four who treated a woman who died of Covid-19, have tested positive for Covid-19, say officials. (PTI input)
MHA issues advisory to West Bengal, Odisha governments:
In an advisory to West Bengal and Odisha governments, the ministry said Amphan is now spotted over the central parts of South Bay of Bengal and the adjoining central Bay of Bengal. It has been moving nearly northwards with a speed of 13 kmph during past six hours and lay centred at 0530 hours IST on Monday, the ministry said.
PM Modi to chair high-level meet on Cyclone Amphan at 4 pm:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level meeting with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday to review the situation due to a cyclonic threat in parts of coastal India.
The meeting will be held at the Prime Minister`s residence here in which Shah, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, and NDMA officials will be present.
The Tamil Nadu government said that the state will not face the impact of the cyclone but it was constantly monitoring the situation along with IMD. Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar said satellite images of the storm have been released.
Of the 809 cyclone shelters in the 12 coastal districts in Odisha, 242 are now being used as temporary medical camps for the returnees from different states amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. According to Odisha Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena, all fishermen in the state have returned to the coast following the cyclone warning.
Relief materials, dry fruits and trampoline have been dispatched to coastal areas. "We are taking all measures to tackle any contingency. Special control rooms have been set up, and State Disaster Relief Force teams have been deployed. We are also making announcements through public address systems," a senior official said.
Under the cyclone's impact, the coastal districts of Gangetic West Bengal, including North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, East and West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly are likely to experience light to moderate rain at many places with heavy downpour at isolated places on May 19.
Coastal Odisha is likely to experience light to moderate rainfall in many places from the evening of May 18, with heavy rain in some places in coastal Odisha districts like Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara.
Coastal districts like Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore are likely to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by high-velocity winds, particularly on May 19 and 20
IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that northern parts of Odisha are likely to be more affected due to the cyclone.
According to the IMD, the high-velocity winds may cause extensive damage to mud houses and partial damage to 'pucca' structures. The winds may also lead to bending or uprooting of power and communication poles, minor disruption of railways and may affect overhead power lines and signalling systems and also cause widespread damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards.
The MeT department, which has issued an 'orange' warning for West Bengal, said 'Amphan' is likely to cross the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha and Hatiya Islands in the afternoon or evening of May 20 as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph before losing some steam ahead of landfall.
While the Odisha government is preparing for a possible evacuation of 11 lakh people residing in vulnerable areas, the West Bengal government has issued an alert in coastal districts and sent relief teams.
The cyclone is all set to unleash heavy rains coupled with high-velocity winds in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The landfall has been expected between Digha in East Mindapore district of West Bengal and Bangladesh’s Hatiya island. An alert has been sounded in the coastal districts of Bengal and an evacuation has begun.
Out of 37 teams of NDRF, 20 are actively deployed and 17 are on standby in the two states.
The NDRF has enhanced its strength to a total of 37 teams in Odisha and West Bengal, with the addition of 20 more, to combat the dual challenge of cyclone Amphan amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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