Amid Covid-19, millions in India and Bangladesh now brace for super Cyclone Amphan

According to the MET department, super Cyclone Amphan has developed to be the strongest one ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal.

As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)'s latest update, super cyclone Amphan is likely to cross West Bengal–Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya Islands in Bangladesh BD, close to Sundarbans, during afternoon to evening of May 20 with a wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.

"Very high wind speeds ranging up to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph are expected, accompanied by heavy rainfall and storm surges of 4-5 metres in the coastal districts of the State," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

In Bengal, districts of East Medinipur, South & North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Kolkata are expected to be impacted.

The damage potential of the cyclone is expected to be higher than that of Cyclone ‘Bulbul’, which hit the West Bengal Coast on 9th November 2019.

The US Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) has predicted that up to 33.6 million people in India could potentially be exposed to the storm's winds. In Bangladesh, the cyclone may affect a whopping number of 5.3 million people.

Evacuation:

A day before the severe cyclonic storm is likely to make its landfall between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh, WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that three lakh people had been shifted to cyclone shelters in the coastal districts as a precautionary measure.

"We have evacuated three lakh people from four coastal districts of Bengal— 2 lakh from South 24 Parganas, 50,000 from North 24 Parganas, 40,000 from East Medinipur and 10,000 from West Medinipur," Mamata Banerjee said during a presser at state secretariat at Nabanna.

"Besides 19 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, 15 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed to the coastal areas while we are monitoring the entire situation live from our control-room at Nabanna," Banerjee said.

Fishermen have been alerted to not venture out in the seas in Odisha's Puri on May 18.

As many as 36 teams of NDRF are currently deployed in both the States.

Rescue and relief teams of the Army and Navy along with ships and aircrafts of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard have been put on standby.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also reviewed the preparedness regarding the cyclone landfall on Monday night.

In Bangladesh, Disaster Management Junior Minister Enamur Rahman told media that they were planning to evacuate more than two million people from coastal areas to more than 12,000 cyclone shelters.

Coronavirus pandemic:

The threat of damage owing to the super cyclone Amhan comes at the time when both countries are reeling under the threat of Coronavirus.

In India, the contagion has infected over 1 lakh people and left 3,169 people dead.

The country is struggling to cope up the huge loss in the economic sector amid four phases of lockdown to contain the spread of the disease.

In Bangladesh, the virus has affected more than 25 thousand people including 370 deaths.

Hence, tackling both disasters simultaneously amid the social distancing norms would surely pose a challenge to both governments.

Chief Secretary, Odisha and Additional Chief Secretary, West Bengal apprised India's National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) of preparatory measures taken by them.

They informed that the evacuation of people from the low lying areas is being carried out. A

ll actions have been taken to stock food grains, drinking water and other essential supplies. Teams for maintenance and restoration of Power and Telecom services have also been positioned.