Officials reported that Cyclone Remal caused a minimum of four fatalities in West Bengal and caused significant destruction to infrastructure and property in coastal areas, with wind speeds reaching 135 km per hour as it passed through the state and neighbouring Bangladesh on Monday. A man succumbed to his injuries after a wall crumbled under the constant heavy rain on Sunday evening in the Bibir Bagan area of Entally in Central Kolkata, stated a state disaster management official.
On Monday morning, an elderly woman in Mousuni Island near Namkhana near the Sunderbans delta died from injuries sustained when a tree fell on her hut, causing the roof to collapse, according to officials.
Following its path through the coastlines of Bangladesh and West Bengal, Cyclone Remal caused widespread destruction, resulting in visible devastation across the coastal regions of the state, including extensive damage to infrastructure and property, shortly after sunrise on Monday.
Thatched hut roofs were destroyed, trees were uprooted and blocked roads in Kolkata and coastal areas, while electricity poles were knocked down, leading to power outages across the state, including the outskirts of the city, according to officials.
Despite some areas in Kolkata being flooded on Monday morning, suburban trains from Sealdah terminal were partially suspended for three hours, causing further inconvenience to commuters before resuming normal operations.
Officials reported that roofs of straw huts were destroyed, trees were uprooted blocking roads in Kolkata and coastal areas, and electricity poles were knocked down, resulting in major power outages across different parts of the state, including the outskirts of the city.
Delayed in train and flight
During the morning of the first working day of the week, some areas of Kolkata were still flooded, causing disruptions in suburban train services from the Sealdah terminal station for about three hours, further inconveniencing commuters before operations returned to normal.
Flight operations at Kolkata airport restarted on Monday morning following a 21-hour suspension due to Cyclone Remal. Sources at the airport, on the other hand, indicated that it will be a while before things return to normal.
The cyclone caused extensive damage to the nearby coastlines of the state and Bangladesh, from Sagar Island to Khepupara, close to the southwest of Mongla in the neighboring nation, starting its landfall process at 8.30 pm on Sunday and continuing for a solid four hours.
The Met office later announced that ‘Remal’ had weakened to a cyclonic storm at 5:30 am on Monday, located approximately 70 km northeast of Canning and 30 km west-southwest of Mongla. There is a probability that the system will slowly decrease in intensity.
Efforts are being made to bring back normal conditions, as emergency services are focusing on removing debris and restoring power in the impacted zones.
Nevertheless, the continuous downpour is hindering these activities in many of the impacted regions, according to the officials.
Metrological office reported
The Meteorological office reported that Haldia received 110 mm of rainfall, while Tamluk and Nimpith received 70 mm each, along with other areas in south Bengal.
The homes and farmlands were flooded by the storm and heavy rain. Salt water from the nearby Bay of Bengal flooded embankments in certain areas, flowing into agricultural land and causing crop destruction.
Ahead of the cyclone’s arrival, over 100,000 people were relocated from at-risk areas by the West Bengal government.
Extensive destruction was documented in the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur. News coverage from Digha, a coastal resort town, captured footage of tidal waves hitting a seawall, causing water to flood inland and cover fishing boats, mud-and-thatch houses, and farmlands.
Metrological office reported
The Meteorological office reported that Haldia received 110 mm of rainfall, while Tamluk and Nimpith received 70 mm each, along with other areas in south Bengal.
VIDEO | Here’s what IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said informing about Cyclone Remal.
“Severe Cyclone is slowly going towards North, North-East and getting weak. It converted into cyclonic storm this morning. In the forenoon, it is centred around 24 km from Bangladesh’s Mangla. Its… pic.twitter.com/dzcBrB20ES
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 27, 2024
The homes and farmlands were flooded by the storm and heavy rain. Salt water from the nearby Bay of Bengal flooded embankments in certain areas, flowing into agricultural land and causing crop destruction.
Ahead of the cyclone’s arrival, over 100,000 people were relocated from at-risk areas by the West Bengal government.
Extensive destruction was documented in the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur. News coverage from Digha, a coastal resort town, captured footage of tidal waves hitting a seawall, causing water to flood inland and cover fishing boats, mud-and-thatch houses, and farmlands.
The meteorologist predicted additional rainfall in Kolkata and the southern regions like Nadia and Murshidabad, with brief periods of heavy rain and strong winds until Tuesday morning.
Aroop Biswas, the State Power Minister, mentioned that the issues and destruction to the power supply system due to Cyclone Remal will be resolved shortly.
He remarked about a couple of power outages in the CESC vicinity, caused by trees falling.
A total of 14 National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed for relief and restoration work across districts in south Bengal, including Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly.
The state government has started relief efforts, giving food, water and medical help to those impacted.
The residents are advised to stay indoors and take necessary precautions while the heavy rain continues.
The weatherman reported that Kolkata received 146 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am on Sunday to 5.30 am on Monday.
The city experienced a top wind speed of 74 kmph, whereas Dum Dum on the city’s northern outskirts saw a maximum wind speed of 91 kmph, according to the meteorological department.
Many parts of Kolkata are still flooded with water, making life even more difficult for the people living there. 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 experienced flooding throughout the day.
It was reported that trees were pulled out of the ground in various locations such as Southern Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, D L Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, New Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park, College Street, and the nearby Salt Lake area.
Approximately 68 trees were removed in Kolkata, while another 75 trees were knocked down in the adjacent Salt Lake and Rajarhat regions.
The cyclone brought heavy rain and powerful winds to places like Digha, Kakdwip, and Jaynagar, which grew stronger on Monday morning.
