Cyclone Hits Odisha and West Bengal

Introduction

India is a developing country and is facing the worst time of all right now because of the increasing effects of Coronavirus. Over 1 lakh cases have been confirmed of the virus out of which 3,500 people have been deceased. This has affected both the economic and social aspect of the life of every individual. In such a situation would ever expect any type of disaster. However, Odisha and West Bengal are facing one right now. You might have heard about the Cyclone Amphan. Here, I will explain everything about it. 

Cyclone Amphan

The name Amphan which is pronounced as 'UM-pun' means sky. Thailand gave this name to it in 2004. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) announced such a cyclone and so the residents near the coastal areas and in vulnerable districts were evacuated to a safe place. However, IMD never expected cyclone with such intensity. Today, after 4 pm the speed of wind in between Digha and Hatiya reached to 165kmph and is gusting to 185kmph. 

Steps Taken by Odisha and Bengal Government

After the news of this cyclone approaching the coastline, both Odisha and West Bengal Government began various evacuation and prevention measures. Given below are the steps taken by the Governments.

• Around 1,19,000 people were evacuated from 13 unprotected districts of Odisha. Over 1700 shelter camps have been build up for accommodating the evacuees. The concentration of evacuees from Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore was the most. 
• Delhi AC Special Express and other special trains for migrant workers which were scheduled to run from the path of this cyclone were cancelled. The trains which were already dispatched with migrant workers were diverted to different route. 
• Over 2000 pregnant women were shifted to hospitals in seven districts of Odisha with a view of providing safe and secure delivery. 
• The Indian Navy was kept on high alert immediately after receiving the inputs of cyclone nearing the coast. The Eastern Naval Command is monitoring the situation closely and kept its ships at Vishakapatnam on standby for providing aid, distress relief, evacuation, and logistic support.
• Over 4.5 lakh more people were evacuated from Odisha as the intensity of this cyclone increases. 
• The areas near Kolkata which began operating after the lockdown restricted the vehicular traffic. Local Police, traffic officials and other personnel reached locations with heavy traffic and cleared it immediately.
• CM of West Bengal Mamata Banarjee immediately formed a task force led by State Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha for conducting and monitoring necessary relief and rescue operations.
• Over 7 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed in six vulnerable districts of West Bengal. The districts are East Midnapore, West Midnapore, South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and Howrah. As the cyclonic storm is getting even bigger every moment 12 more team of NDRF have been kept on standby.
• At 4:15 pm NDRF Chief SN Pradhan confirmed that over 5 lakh people from West Bengal and over 1.5 lakh people from Odisha were rescued by NDRF teams.
• With the increasing effects of this cyclone 20 and 19, NDRF teams were deployed in Odisha and West Bengal respectively for conducting rescue operations and providing relief to the public.

Conclusion

We are facing the problem of COVID-19 since March. People were already worried about it and now a new problem evolved. This cyclone has already killed hundreds of people. In such times, whining about problems like internet cut off and all is not considerable. We must pray for these states and people helping the states like the NDRF and such organisations.

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