'Amphan' Kills 12 in West Bengal: Here's What You Need to Know

Guwahati:

At least 12 people were killed as the Cyclone Amphan, one of the biggest storms seen in this part of the world in years, wreaked havoc in West Bengal after landing ashore yesterday afternoon.

The North and South 24 Parganas districts have been worst-hit by the storm, and has destroyed property worth Rs 1 lakh crore, claimed Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee remained in her office during the storm. With rains continuing, she said the hardest hits areas were not immediately accessible. The Chief Minister also used the word "tandav (dance of fury)" to describe the impact of the storm. Bengal has evacuated around 5 lakh people.

Meanwhile, the shut down Kolkata airport has been flooded and several of its structures have been damaged in the storm. In the capital city, extensive damage was reported, with several trees being uprooted and cars being overturned. Several parts of the city were plunged into darkness in the night.

At the same time, Bangladesh officials said that eight people had died (although later reports point to 20 deaths). The list of dead included a five-year-old boy and a 75-year-old man, both hit by falling trees, and a cyclone emergency volunteer who drowned.

Additionally, social distancing norms went for a toss wherever Amphan landed, with people tightly packed into schools, government buildings and community halls to brace for the impending storm.

According to the Meteorological department, Amphan lay about 270 km north-northeast of Kolkata as of 5:30 am today, and is likely to continue to move in that direction and weaken further into a deep depression during the next three hours and into a depression in the next six hours.