Super cyclonic storm Amphan made its impact on the coastal state of West Bengal on Wednesday and caused serious destruction in Kolkata, Howrah and many districts in the state. The gusty winds were ranging from 155 to 185 kmph, along with heavy rainfall.
Visuals from the Kolkata airport showed a water-logged tarmac and runways. An aeroplane was seen in knee-deep water. As per the officials, two sheds have been damaged but they were unused.
All operations at the Kolkata airport were closed till 5 am (Thursday) but the recent images and videos surfaced online states that the cyclone has created a havoc on the airport. A portion of Kolkata Airport was seen flooded in view of Amphan that has killed 12 people in the state.
Kolkata also suffered from huge damages to buildings including some reports of structures collapsing with electric poles and trees uprooted in many parts of the city.
Most of the areas in Howrah and North 24 Parganas faced massive power cuts due to heavy rainfall. Roofs of several houses also collapsed as a result of the strong winds during the cyclonic spell. There have been damages inside the state secretariat building Nabanna as well.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in media address, said, “We are not getting proper reports as the connections have been completely cut off due to the storm. But the total losses are likely to amount to thousands of crores. It will take at least 3-4 days to do an initial assessment of the losses. Many bridges and kutcha houses have been completely ravaged.”
"We will ask the Centre to look at the extent of damages with a humane face. As per our initial estimates, 10-12 people have died. We feel the loss of lives could even surpass that caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," CM Banerjee added.
(With inputs from IANS)
