Bengal reeling with devastation as super cyclone Amphan hits state

A day after the super cyclone Amphan slammed into West Bengal, large scale damage life and property started to come to the surface. While Kolkata waked up to uprooted trees and lampposts, waterlogged streets and vehicles crumpled like tin cans under fallen trees, the rural areas of the state wore a deserted look with mud huts flattened by the storm and uprooted rooftops strewn in villages.

Follow DH's live coverage of the AMPHAN Cyclone

Coastal districts such as North and South 24 Paraganas and East and West Midnapore along with large parts of Sundarban bore the burnt of the extremely severe cyclone. According to sources in the state secretariat, the severity of the damage was far from being totally determined as several areas of the state have become isolated with no power supply and telephone connections.

While rampaging across Kolkata with wind speeds of about 110 km per hour, the storm snapped several power lines and blocked roads by uprooting large trees. Several areas of the city are without power since Wednesday night. Mobile comunication in the city has been severely disrupted.

Also read — At least 19 million children at imminent risk due to Cyclone Amphan in India, Bangladesh: UNICEF

According to sources in Kolkata Police, it will take hours to remove all the uprooted trees in the streets and heavy waterlogging in several areas have made the task even more difficult.

The Kolkata Airport also sustained damages as the storm shattered several window panes in the terminals. At one point on Wednesday, the wind speed of 133 km per hour was recorded in the area near the Airport. The hangers have become heavily waterlogged. The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained.

The situation is even worse in rural areas, especially in the coastal districts. Thousands of Kucha houses were destroyed, paddy fields were flattened and vegetable cultivation was badly hit.

The extent of damages in North and South 24 Paraganas became evident from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comment on Wednesday. “South and North 24 Paraganas have been destroyed,” she said.

She also said that so far about 10 deaths were reported in the state but the number of fatalities is likely to rise.