Cyclone Remal Devastates Making Landfall in Coastal West Bengal

Kolkata: Severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ made landfall between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh with winds gusting at up to 135 kilometres per hour. Heavy rains accompanied the storm flooding houses and agricultural land. Signs of devastation followed the storm.

The landfall process started at 8:30 pm on Sunday between the  Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh. It destroyed thatched houses, uprooted trees and knocked down electric poles.

More than 1.10 lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in West Bengal ahead of the cyclone. In Kolkata’s Bibir Bagan area, one person was injured when a wall collapsed. In North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts roofs of thatched houses were blown away, electric poles twisted and trees were uprooted.

Fourteen National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were deployed across districts in south Bengal, including Kolkata for relief and rescue work.

Cyclone Remal disrupted air, rail and road transportation in Kolkata and other parts of southern Bengal. The Eastern and South Eastern Railways cancelled some trains, and the Kolkata airport suspended flight operations for 21 hours, affecting 394 flights. The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata also suspended operations for the storm.

In Bangladesh, over 8 lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas.