DEADLY CYCLONE CUTS POWER TO 5M
More than three million people fled to shelters despite the increased risk of coronavirus, as a powerful cyclone crashed into India and Bangladesh yesterday.
Cyclone Amphan, a category 3 storm, was packing sustained winds of up to 170km/h with maximum gusts of 190km/h. Authorities warned of storm surges pushing seawater 25km inland, flooding cities including Kolkata.
The cyclone washed away bridges connecting Indian islands to the mainland and left many areas without electricity or phone services.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it was a major disaster made worse by the coronavirus.
“We are facing three crises: the coronavirus, the thousands of migrants who are returning home and now the cyclone,” she said.
As the cyclone hit the coast, coconut trees swayed wildly, electric poles lay scattered on roads, rain pounded fishing villages and rivers surged. Thousands of homes were damaged. The region, with 58 million people in the two bordering countries, has some of the most vulnerable communities in South Asia.
More than five million households in Bangladesh were blacked out.
“We don’t know exactly the extent of damage, but it seems the loss is colossal,” electricity board official Moin Uddin said.
A woman crushed by a tree and a 13-year-old girl killed near Kolkata were among the first deaths. In Bangladesh, a volunteer rescuer drowned when a boat capsized.
The cyclone could endanger India’s fight against the coronavirus, with supply lines cut, roads destroyed and lockdown measures slowing relief work. Some in the cyclone’s path saw a choice between the virus and the storm. Fisherman Debasis Shyamal said many feared going to shelters.
“They have been home for weeks and are afraid of going into a crowd where they could get infected.”