KOLKATA, May 27, 2024 (TBINN)
At least two persons died in West Bengal and its coastal areas suffered extensive damage to infrastructure and property, as Cyclone Remal tore through the state and neighbouring Bangladesh with winds speeds reaching 135 K.M. per hour, officials said today.
A man died of his injuries when a wall collapsed due to the relentless downpour on Sunday Evening at Bibir Bagan Area of Entally in Central Kolkata, a State Disaster Management Official said.
An eldery woman in Mousuni Island near Namkhana adjacent to Sunderbans’ delta also succumbed to injuries on Monday Morning, following a tree-collapse on her hut that resulted in the roof caving in, official said.
After tearing through the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal, Cyclone Remal left a trail of destruction with pictures of devastation becoming evident across the state’s coastal areas, with extensive damage to infrastructure and property, soon after daybreak today.
Roofs of thatched huts were blown away, uprooted trees blocked roads in Kolkata as well as in coastal districts and electricity poles were knocked down causing significant power disruption in various parts of the state, including in the city’s outskirts, officials informed.
While several pockets of Kolkata remained waterlogged on the morning of first working day of the week, suburban train services from Sealdah Terminal Station remained partially suspended for at least three hours, adding to commuters’ woes, before operations limped back to normal.
As reported earlier by The Bharat India, flight services at Kolkata Airport resumed today morning after remaining suspended for 21 hours in view of Cyclone Remal. Airport sources, however, said it will take some more time for the situation to become normal.
The cyclone ravaged adjacent coasts of the state and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the South-West of Mongla in the neighbouring country, after its landfall process began at 8.30 P.M. on Sunday and lasted for a good four hours’ time.
In a later update, as informed by The Bharat India earlier, the Met office said ‘Remal’ weakened into a cyclonic storm at 5:30 A.M. on Monday, about 70 K.M. North-East of Canning and 30 K.M. West-South-West of Mongla. The system is likely to gradually weaken further.
Efforts to restore normalcy are under way, with emergency services working to clear debris and restore power in the affected areas.
However, the relentless heavy rain is hampering these operations in most of the affected areas, officials said.
The state government has initiated relief operations, providing food, drinking water and medical assistance to the people affected.
Authorities have urged residents to remain indoors and take necessary precaution till heavy rain persists.
Kolkata recorded a rainfall of 146 M.M. in the period between 8.30 A.M. on Sunday and 5.30 A.M. on Monday, Weatherman said.
The metropolis logged a maximum wind speed of 74 kmph, while Dum Dum in the northern outskirts of the city recorded maximum wind speed of 91 kmph, Weather Office informed.
Several areas of Kolkata remained waterlogged, compounding the misery of affected residents. Streets in significant pockets of Ballygunge, Park Circus, Dhakuria and Alipore in South Kolkata, Behala in the West and College Street, Thanthania Kali Bari, C.R. Avenue and Sinthi in the North remained inundated till late in the day.
Reports indicated that trees were uprooted in several areas, including Southern Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, D.L. Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, New Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park, College Street and the adjoining Salt Lake area.
Around 68 trees were uprooted in Kolkata, with an additional 75 trees downed in the nearby Salt Lake and Rajarhat areas.
The cyclone caused rainfall with strong winds in areas such as Digha, Kakdwip and Jaynagar, which intensified on Monday morning.
Other places in South Bengal which received heavy rainfall during the period are Haldia (110 M.M.), Tamluk (70 M.M.) and Nimpith (70 M.M.), Met Office said.
The storm and accompanying heavy rain flooded homes and farmlands. In some regions, salt water from the adjoining Bay of Bengal breached embankments and gushed into farmlands, damaging crops.
West Bengal Government evacuated more than one lakh people from vulnerable areas ahead of the cyclone’s landfall.
North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts reported wide-spread damage. News footage from the coastal resort town of Digha showed tidal waves crashing into a seawall, with surging waters sweeping fishing boats inland and inundating mud-and-thatch houses and farmlands.
Weatherman has forecast more rain in Kolkata and the southern districts including Nadia and Murshidabad, with one or two spells of intense downpour, along with gusty surface winds till Tuesday Morning.
State Power Minister Aroop Biswas said the disruptions and damage to the power supply infrastructure caused by Cyclone Remal will be addressed soon. He noted that there had been one or two incidents of power outages in the C.E.S.C. Area, due to fallen trees.
A total of 14 National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed for relief and restoration work across districts in South Bengal, including Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly.
Relief materials, including dry food and tarpaulins, have been dispatched to the coastal areas and quick response teams comprising trained civil defence volunteers and equipped vehicles are in place, officials said.
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