Cyclone Amphan latest update: Odisha plans to evacuate 11 lakh people if needed
Cyclone Amphan poses challenge to Odisha and Bengal when the state machinery and infrastructure is occupied in fighting coronvirus pandemic.
12 coastal districts of Odisha have been put on alert on Sunday as cyclone Amphan develops into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal with the potential of becoming ‘very severe’ in the next 24 hours.
Odisha special relief commissioner P K Jena has said that 567 cyclone and flood shelters apart from 7,092 buildings are available to house people in the state in case evacuation is required reported PTI.
The agency also reported that NDRF personnel were deployed in the state of West Bengal and Odisha on Sunday. Odisha, which has a history of braving cyclones, announced that it was ready to evacuate 11 lakh people that could get affected by cyclone Amphan.
The cyclone is likely to bring heavy rain and high-velocity winds in coastal Odisha and West Bengal. Its trajectory, according to an IMD report released on Sunday, is towards West Bengal, Sagar Islands and possibly towards Bangladesh.
“The trajectory is mostly towards West Bengal, Sagar Islands and probably towards Bangladesh.... But we have to watch the trajectory very closely. NDRF has deployed the teams well in advance. They are either deployed or moving towards the destination,” said S N Pradhan, the chief of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
G K Das, the regional MeT director in Kolkata said Amphan is likely to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Sagar Islands and Hatiya islands—the former in West Bengal and the latter in Bangladesh—on May 20 afternoon. The cyclone is likely to make a landfall in West Bengal on the same day.
Odisha was ravaged by cyclone Fani last year and the state is not leaving anything to chance this time as well. It has put twelve coastal districts--Ganjam, Gajapti, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda and Nayagarh-- on high alert.
The infrastructure developed for management of cyclones is being used for fighting coronavirus in the state. Odisha special relief commissioner P K Jena said 242 of the 809 cyclone shelters in the 12 coastal districts were being used as temporary medical camps for the returnees from different states.
“Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), NDRF and fire service personnel have already been sent to the districts. We are also in constant touch with the Indian Coast Guard, IMD and NDRF for any requirement,” Jena was quoted as saying by PTI.
According to the regional met office in Kolkata, the cyclone is also likely to bring light to moderate rains to North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, East and West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly on May 19.
Seven teams of the NDRF, comprising of 45 personnel per team, have been deployed in six districts in West Bengal, namely South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly.
10 teams have been deployed in seven districts in Odisha, namely Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj.
Cyclone Amphan intensifies into severe cyclonic storm: Latest Updates
The Odisha government has also decided to keep in abeyance the transfer of two senior IAS officers including health and family welfare secretary N B Dhal and the principal secretary of revenue and disaster management department B P Sethi keeping in mind the cyclonic storm.
