Amphan ravages WB, kills 72
Six killed in Odisha; Kolkata residents recall ‘living through hell’
Seventy-eight people died and thousands were injured by the fury of the sixhour-long cyclone Amphan that ripped through several parts of West Bengal and Odisha on Wednesday, leaving a heart-rending trail of death and destruction.
Amphan, the fiercest cyclone to hit West Bengal in 100 years that packed in winds of up to 190 kmph, razed mud houses to the ground, destroyed crops, uprooted trees and electric poles. Two districts of the state — North and South 24 Pargana — were “completely devastated” with thousands of people left homeless, bridges washed away and low-lying areas in waist-deep water. Many of Kolkata’s roads were flooded and its 1.4 crore people were without power as torrential rain and high-speed winds roared through the state capital.
The cyclone damaged power and telecom infrastructure in many of Odisha’s costal districts as well.
Odisha government officials estimated that the cyclone has affected around 45 lakh people in the state. Many of the areas in Amphan’s path remain without power and in several districts mobile and Internet services remain disrupted.
At least 72 people were killed in West Bengal and six casualties were reported from Odisha. The cyclone also devastated parts of Bangladesh which reported 20 deaths.
“I have never seen such a dangerous disaster in my life. We saw Aila, Phani and Bulbul. But cyclone Amphan was far more devastating than the previous ones. The extent of damage is estimated to be around
`1 lakh crore. The weather forecast of its duration of a few hours failed It is worse than Covid-19. I request the PM to visit our state to assess how deadly the disaster was,” West Bengal chief minister said.
“Restoration work will start soon. A large part of North and South 24 Parganas and Kolkata are facing massive power cut since last evening. Even telephone and mobile connections are down I will visit the affected areas very soon,” Ms Banerjee added.
Besides North and South
24 Parganas and Kolkata, West Bengal’s districts of East Midnapore and Howrah were the worst hit as portions of dilapidated buildings came crashing down in several places.
Kolkata recorded winds with speed up to 125 kmph that overturned hundreds of cars, uprooted trees and electricity poles that blocked key arterial roads and intersections, some even ripping through parked buses and cars.
Kolkata residents recalled “living through hell” for six hours as the winds howled incessantly. Windows buckled from the pressure of the storm, cars floated on water logged roads, bumping against each other. Parts of air conditioners flew around like missiles.