KOLKATA: At least two people died in West Bengal and there was widespread damage to infrastructure and property along its coastal areas as Cyclone Remal made landfall in the state and neighboring Bangladesh with winds of up to 135 kmph, officials said on Monday. Blowed winds from.
One person died after a wall collapsed due to heavy rains in Bibir Bagan area of Entley in central Kolkata on Sunday evening, a state disaster management official said.
An elderly woman also died on Monday morning in Mousuni Island near Namkhana adjacent to the Sundarban delta, when a tree fell on her hut, resulting in the roof collapse, the official said. After breaking off the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal , Cyclone Rema left a trail of destruction, as pictures of devastation became apparent in coastal areas of the state, with widespread damage to infrastructure and property soon after daybreak on Monday.
Officials said roofs of thatched huts were blown away, trees were uprooted, blocking roads in Kolkata as well as coastal districts and electric poles were downed, causing power disruptions in various parts of the state, including on the outskirts of the city. Went.While several areas of Kolkata remained waterlogged on the morning of the first working day of the week, suburban train services from Sealdah Termina station remained partially suspended for at least three hours, adding to the woes of commuters, but operations were expected to return to normal. Earlier, flight services at Kolkata airport resumed on Monday morning after being suspended for 21 hours in the wake of Cyclone Remal. However, airport sources say that it will take some more time for the situation to become normal.
The cyclone lashed the state and adjacent coasts of Bangladesh between Saga Island and Khepupara near south-west of Mongla in the neighboring country when its landfall process began at 8.30 pm on Sunday and lasted for about four hours.
In a later update, the weather office said 'Remal' weakened into a cyclonic storm at 5:30 am on Monday, about 70 km northeast of Canning and 30 km west-southwest of Mongla.The system is likely to weaken further slowly. Efforts to restore normalcy are ongoing, with emergency services working to clear debris and restore power to affected areas.
However, these operations are being hampered in most of the affected areas due to continuous heavy rains, officials said.
The state government has started relief operations, providing food, drinking water and medical aid to the affected people. Officials have urged residents to stay indoors and take necessary precautions until the heavy rains continue.The meteorologist said 146 mm rainfall was recorded in Kolkata between 8.30 am on Sunday and 5.30 am on Monday.
The weather office said the maximum wind speed recorded in the metropolis was 74 km per hour, while the maximum wind speed in Dum Dum, on the northern outskirts of the city, was recorded at 91 km per hour. Many areas of Kolkata were waterlogged, Due to which the problems of the affected residents have increased. Roads in important areas like Ballygunge, Park Circus Dhakuria and Alipore in south Kolkata, Behala in the west and College Street Thanthania Kali Bari, CR Avenue and Sinthi in the north remained submerged till the end of the day.
Reports indicate that trees were uprooted in Souther Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, DL Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park, College Street and several nearby areas. .Salt Lake area.
About 68 trees were uprooted in Kolkata, with an additional 75 trees uprooted in nearby Salt Lake and Rajarhat areas. The cyclone caused rain with strong winds in areas like Digha, Kakadvi and Jaynagar, which intensified on Monday morning.
Haldia (110 mm), Tamluk (70 mm) and Nimpith (70 mm) received heavy rainfall among other places in south Bengal during this period, the weather office said.
The storm and its accompanying heavy rains flooded homes and fields. In some areas, salt water from the nearby Bay of Bengal breached embankments and entered fields, damaging crops.The West Bengal government evacuated more than one lakh people from sensitive areas before the cyclone made landfall.
Extensive damage was reported in North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts. News footage from the coastal resort town of Digha shows tidal waves crashing against the sea wall, the torrent of water sweeping fishing boats inland and flooding mud and thatched homes and farms .
Meteorologists have predicted more rain in Kolkata and the southern district including Nadia and Murshidabad will see one or two intense spells of rain with strong surface winds till Tuesday morning. State Power Minister Arup Biswas said there will be power supply disruption due to Cyclone Remal. The disruption and damage caused to the infrastructure will be addressed soon.He said there have been one or two incidents of power outage in the CES area due to falling trees.
A total of 14 National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed for relief and restoration work in the districts of South Bengal including Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. Officials said relief materials including dry food and tarpaulins were being sent to coastal areas. have been dispatched and rapid response teams consisting of trained civil defense volunteers and equipped vehicles have been deployed.
One person died after a wall collapsed due to heavy rains in Bibir Bagan area of Entley in central Kolkata on Sunday evening, a state disaster management official said.
An elderly woman also died on Monday morning in Mousuni Island near Namkhana adjacent to the Sundarban delta, when a tree fell on her hut, resulting in the roof collapse, the official said. After breaking off the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal , Cyclone Rema left a trail of destruction, as pictures of devastation became apparent in coastal areas of the state, with widespread damage to infrastructure and property soon after daybreak on Monday.
Officials said roofs of thatched huts were blown away, trees were uprooted, blocking roads in Kolkata as well as coastal districts and electric poles were downed, causing power disruptions in various parts of the state, including on the outskirts of the city. Went.While several areas of Kolkata remained waterlogged on the morning of the first working day of the week, suburban train services from Sealdah Termina station remained partially suspended for at least three hours, adding to the woes of commuters, but operations were expected to return to normal. Earlier, flight services at Kolkata airport resumed on Monday morning after being suspended for 21 hours in the wake of Cyclone Remal. However, airport sources say that it will take some more time for the situation to become normal.
The cyclone lashed the state and adjacent coasts of Bangladesh between Saga Island and Khepupara near south-west of Mongla in the neighboring country when its landfall process began at 8.30 pm on Sunday and lasted for about four hours.
In a later update, the weather office said 'Remal' weakened into a cyclonic storm at 5:30 am on Monday, about 70 km northeast of Canning and 30 km west-southwest of Mongla.The system is likely to weaken further slowly. Efforts to restore normalcy are ongoing, with emergency services working to clear debris and restore power to affected areas.
However, these operations are being hampered in most of the affected areas due to continuous heavy rains, officials said.
The state government has started relief operations, providing food, drinking water and medical aid to the affected people. Officials have urged residents to stay indoors and take necessary precautions until the heavy rains continue.The meteorologist said 146 mm rainfall was recorded in Kolkata between 8.30 am on Sunday and 5.30 am on Monday.
The weather office said the maximum wind speed recorded in the metropolis was 74 km per hour, while the maximum wind speed in Dum Dum, on the northern outskirts of the city, was recorded at 91 km per hour. Many areas of Kolkata were waterlogged, Due to which the problems of the affected residents have increased. Roads in important areas like Ballygunge, Park Circus Dhakuria and Alipore in south Kolkata, Behala in the west and College Street Thanthania Kali Bari, CR Avenue and Sinthi in the north remained submerged till the end of the day.
Reports indicate that trees were uprooted in Souther Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, DL Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park, College Street and several nearby areas. .Salt Lake area.
About 68 trees were uprooted in Kolkata, with an additional 75 trees uprooted in nearby Salt Lake and Rajarhat areas. The cyclone caused rain with strong winds in areas like Digha, Kakadvi and Jaynagar, which intensified on Monday morning.
Haldia (110 mm), Tamluk (70 mm) and Nimpith (70 mm) received heavy rainfall among other places in south Bengal during this period, the weather office said.
The storm and its accompanying heavy rains flooded homes and fields. In some areas, salt water from the nearby Bay of Bengal breached embankments and entered fields, damaging crops.The West Bengal government evacuated more than one lakh people from sensitive areas before the cyclone made landfall.
Extensive damage was reported in North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts. News footage from the coastal resort town of Digha shows tidal waves crashing against the sea wall, the torrent of water sweeping fishing boats inland and flooding mud and thatched homes and farms .
Meteorologists have predicted more rain in Kolkata and the southern district including Nadia and Murshidabad will see one or two intense spells of rain with strong surface winds till Tuesday morning. State Power Minister Arup Biswas said there will be power supply disruption due to Cyclone Remal. The disruption and damage caused to the infrastructure will be addressed soon.He said there have been one or two incidents of power outage in the CES area due to falling trees.
A total of 14 National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed for relief and restoration work in the districts of South Bengal including Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. Officials said relief materials including dry food and tarpaulins were being sent to coastal areas. have been dispatched and rapid response teams consisting of trained civil defense volunteers and equipped vehicles have been deployed.
