New Delhi: Cyclone Amphan will reach near Kolkata by evening and the city along with adjoining districts will witness strong winds with an intensity of 110-120 kilometres per hour, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday as the storm was making landfall.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm' Amphan will completely enter the land by 7 PM, Mohapatra added.
The cyclone is moving at a speed of 25-30 kilometres per hour. Winds with a speed of 155-165 kilometres per hour have commenced in South and North 24 Parganas and East Medinipur districts.
"The first arm of Cyclone Amphan has touched the land. The eye of the cyclone is expected to touch land anytime," he said.
"Landfall process started at 2.30 PM with the entry of the front sector of the wall cloud region," Mohapatra said in an online briefing.
The width of the wall cloud of the cyclone is around 120 kilometres and the diameter of the eye is about 40 kilometres. The rear side is also about 120 kilometres.
South and North 24 Pargana districts will witness a lull as the eye of cyclone passes through, but heavy rains, strong winds will resume in the next 30 minutes, as the second arm of the cyclone hits the area, Mohapatra cautioned.
"We are hopeful that by 7 PM the entire cyclone will enter the land," he added.
Mohapatra also asserted that the forecast of the cyclone was accurate.
India has also been issuing cyclone warning to Bangladesh, he added.
Cyclone Amphan will reach Kolkata and nearby areas by evening, Mohapatra said, adding that they will witness strong winds with an intensity of 110-120 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 135 kilometres per hour.
Under the influence of the cyclone, wind speed in north coastal Odisha was 100 to 110 kilometres per hour, gusting to 125 kilometres per hour.
As the cyclone passed along the Odisha coast, it unleashed intense rainfall in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.
Though two deaths were reported in Kendrapara and Bhadrak during the cyclone, the exact reasons are being ascertained, officials said.
The storm will reach Assam and Meghalaya on May 21 and it will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall in these two northeastern districts, Mohapatra noted.
