Super-cyclone Amphan wreaks
havoc in India, Bangladesh
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| The aftermath of Cyclone Amphan |
The fiercest storm this century in the Bay of Bengal slammed
into the coast of eastern India and Bangladesh on Wednesday evening.
By Robin Gomes
The powerful cyclone, packed with torrential rains, tore
through densely populated coastal areas of India and Bangladesh. The storm blew
off roofs and whipped up waves that swallowed embankments and bridges, leaving
entire villages without access to fresh water, electricity and communications.
170 kmph winds
The equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, cyclone Amphan
packed sustained winds of up to 170 kilometres (105 miles) per hour with
maximum gusts of 190 kph (118 mph) when it crashed ashore on May 20 evening.
More than 2 million people were evacuated from their homes
in low-lying Bangladesh. A further half a million people in India’s West Bengal
and Odisha states were moved from vulnerable low-lying areas to shelters.
The storm flooded vast areas but has weakened since making
landfall. It has been downgraded to a cyclonic storm and will subside into a
depression later.
At least 82 people were reported killed as rescue teams
searched for survivors on Thursday. Most of the deaths were due to the collapse
of walls, drowning and falling trees in both countries. A clearer picture of
the casualties and damage to property will be possible when communications are
restored.
Relief hampered by Covid-19
Officials warn that relief and repair work will be made
harder by the coronavirus pandemic, which has already sapped the health care
system.
The cyclone came at a time when the two countries are
battling to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Some evacuees were initially
reluctant to leave their homes for fear of possible infection in the packed
storm shelters.
According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal,
the impact of cyclone Amphan has been "worse than coronavirus".
The densely populated regions of southern West Bengal bore
the brunt of the onslaught with storm surges pushing seawater 25 kilometres (15
miles) inland and flooding cities including the state capital Kolkata, formerly
Calcutta.
Large portions of the teeming metropolis, which has a
population of 14.1 million, and its suburbs were flooded. Many roads and
properties were littered with uprooted trees and debris.
In Bangladesh, at least a million people were left without
electricity, according to the Ministry of Power. Hundreds of villages were
submerged by a tidal surge across the vast coastal region, disaster-response
authorities said. About a dozen flood protection embankments have been
breached, they said.
A cyclone-prone region
Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal frequently batter parts of
eastern India and Bangladesh between April and December, often forcing the
evacuations of tens of thousands and causing widespread damage.
Cyclone Bhola of November 1970 is regarded as the deadliest
tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the worst natural disasters in the
world. At least 500,000 people are said to have lost their lives, mainly
because of the storm surge estimated at 10.4m (34 feet) that flooded much of
the low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta.
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