SUPER CYCLONE AMPHAN landfall process commences

Ahead of the landfall fall of AMPHAN  on Wednesday, 20 May 2020, about five lakh people were evacuated from Seven Coastal districts of West Bengal and  12 coastal districts of Odisha. The two states are on put on high alert and are prepared to face any eventualities in cooperation with the National Disaster Management Authority under the Union Ministry for Home Affairs. Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and assured them whatever assistance was needed by them. The landfall process of the Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan over North West Bay of Bengal will continue for about four hours from 143o hrs IST, IMD said the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. It is centered as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over Northwest Bay of Bengal, about 190 kilometers east-northeast of Paradip in Odisha, 65 kilometers east-southeast of Digha and 35 kilometers south of Sagar Island in West Bengal. Pradeep witnessed 87.1 mm rainfall, Bhubaneswar 33.8 mm and Balasore 48.4 mm rainfall. Kolkata witnessed 30.4 mm rainfall, Digha 56.4 mm and HALDIA 34.8 mm rainfall. NDRF DG SN Pradhan said as per IMD prediction the storm could raise the water level in the Bay of Bengal up to 4 to 6 meters. He assured the people that the authorities are prepared to provide humanitarian assistance and undertake relief activities in the fallout of the cyclone. Navy is on high for Cyclone Relief Efforts on the East Coast. The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is in a high degree of readiness to render necessary humanitarian assistance. Naval ships at Visakhapatnam are standing-by to proceed to the most affected areas to undertake Humanitarian Aid Distress Relief, evacuation, logistic support including providing medical aid. These ships are embarked with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats and relief material that include food, clothes, medicines, blankets, etc, in sufficient quantities. Additionally, twenty Rescue Teams with Gemini Boats and medical teams are also kept ready for augmenting rescue and relief efforts in Odisha and West Bengal.  Naval aircraft are also standing by at the Naval Air Stations INS Dega at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and INS Rajali at Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu to undertake reconnaissance, rescue, and casualty evacuation if required. Eastern Naval Command is monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal closely and Naval Officers-in-Charge (West Bengal) and (Odisha) are in constant communication with respective State Administrations to augment rescue and relief operations as needed.