When cyclone Amphan was battering Kolkata with wind speeds gusting up to 130 km per hour, residents of Subham-Subhasree apartments in east Kolkata’s Hussainpur – Madurdaha felt their buildings were being rocked on their foundations.
“I almost jumped out of my bed and was about to rush outside...Moments later, I realised that it was not an earthquake but the cyclone and that I couldn’t go out,” said Suchismita Biswas, a resident.
As the cyclone battered the buildings, chunks of concrete fell off their exteriors. The flat owners are planning to consult a structural engineer for a checkup of the two buildings.
The society, comprising two buildings, was handed over to the owners in 2015. Apart from the structural damage the cyclone may have caused, there was other damage.
“There was a large tree, almost four-storey in height, in in front of our complex. During the cyclone, a large branch broke off and fell on our gate, damaging the lights at the entrance. A few other branches of some trees located on another plot behind our building also broke off, damaging the wire fencing,” said T Samui, another resident.
One of the sliding window panes of a bedroom in one of the north-facing flats was blown apart. Water started gushing in and the bedroom was filled with ankle deep water. A power cut, caused by the snapping of a high tension wire, made matters worse; there has been no electricity in the complex since Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}One of the sliding window panes of a bedroom in one of the north-facing flats was blown apart. Water started gushing in and the bedroom was filled with ankle deep water. A power cut, caused by the snapping of a high tension wire, made matters worse; there has been no electricity in the complex since Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}“The two buildings are running on generator. We have lodged a complaint with the CESC which supplies power... We don’t now for how long the generator can continue to provide power,” said Samui.