May 26, 2024 10:18 PM IST
Cyclone Remal updates: The landfall process, with its centre about 30 km from the coastline at 8.30pm, will continue for about four hours, MeT department said
Over one lakh people have been moved to cyclone shelters by the West Bengal government as Remal, declared a severe cyclonic storm, started making a landfall on Sunday evening between West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts with an intensity of 110 to 120 kmph, gusting to 135 kmph, the Met office said.
The landfall process of Remal, with its centre about 30 km from the coastline at 8.30pm, will continue for about four hours, it said. “The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ commenced over the adjacent coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara close to the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country,” the Met department said.
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The state government evacuated around 1,10,000 people from the coastal regions, including Sundarbans and Sagar Island, to cyclone shelters by Sunday evening, police officials from South and North 24 Parganas districts said. State disaster management staff and NDRF personnel were deployed all along the coastal belt for rescue and relief operations.
A centralised control unit was set up at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to monitor the situation.
The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata was shut down from Sunday noon till 9 am on Monday. All 394 domestic and international flights were cancelled, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said.
“In view of Cyclone Remal’s impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, a meeting was held with stakeholders, and it was decided to suspend flight operations from noon on May 26 to 9 am on May 27 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” NSCBI airport director C Pattabhi said in a statement.
Several local trains in the Sealdah and Howrah divisions were also cancelled. The Eastern Railway suspended train services in the Sealdah South section and Barasat-Hasnabad section of the Sealdah division from 11 pm on Sunday to 6 am on Monday, cancelling several EMU local trains, an official said.
By Sunday evening, the impending landfall of Remal affected rail and road traffic in Kolkata and other parts of south Bengal. Highways bore a deserted look, police officials from the districts said. The Kolkata Police announced two helpline numbers – 9432610428 and 9432610429 – for citizens.
“Safety of people comes first. We have cancelled several rallies that were to be addressed by senior leaders including our state president Sukanta Majumdar,” Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
Trinamool Congress national general Abhishek Banerjee cancelled his roadshow at Basirhat constituency in the North 24 Parganas.
