The Super Cyclone Amphan: May hit Bangladesh and India (WB, Odisha) coasts at Evening on May 20
The super cyclone “Amphan” formed in the Bay of Bengal has taken the shape of an eye. Amphan is passing north-east with a slight turn. It has pointedly increased the risk of Bangladesh to a large extent.
Analyzing satellite images and trajectory of various meteorological agencies on Monday, it has seen that Amphan was going to hit in West Bengal, India.
But whereas it turned slightly north-east, it was seen on Tuesday (19/05/2020) that Amphan was moving slightly right- hand side from the West Bengal and hitting the Sundarbans coast along with the Bangladesh-India border. As a consequence, the cyclone-affected area has increased towards Bangladesh.
Millions of people in India and Bangladesh are in danger because of this super cyclone, which is due to make landfall among 36 hours.
Typhoon Warning Center of BangladeshiInformed that the Super Cyclone Amphan became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal. Its wind speeds will rise to 270 kilometers per hour.
By the last super cyclone in 1999, approximately 15,000 villages were affected, and almost 10,000 people were lost their life.
The super cyclone is going to make landfall on the India Bangladesh border on Wednesday evening, near the Indian city of Kolkata. It is home to more than 14 million people.
Indian officials claimed that about 300,000 people in the coastal belt of West Bengal and Odisha would be facing an immediate danger from the storm. Indian Ministry of the home said, “Evacuations are underway in the cyclonic region.”
Mr. Enamur Rahman, State Minister for Disaster Management of Bangladesh, said, “We are planning to move about 2 million our people from the coastal belt to the more than 12,000 cyclone shelters.”
Mr. Selim Hossain, senior information officer of Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry, “There is receptivity for 9.1 million people to be safety housed in cyclone shelters while maintaining social distancing due to COVID 19.”
Cyclone Amphan could also bring the suppers to the world’s largest refugee camp at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, where almost 1 million Rohingya refugees are living who fleed from Myanmar after violence took place there.
The storm comes in a crucial time when the whole of the world, including both India and Bangladesh facing a struggle of COVID 19 coronavirus outbreaks. On Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, the total affected people in India are about 1,25,000, whereas the dead case is 711.
In the meantime, Bangladesh’s infection count is promptly rising, now the confirmed case is more than 25,000, and the dead case is 370.
So, it’s challenging for both the two governments, handling both the disasters at once, especially if they endeavor to maintain social distancing in packed evacuation centers and emergency shelters.
Mr. Pradeep Jena, a special relief commissioner for India’s Odisha State, said, “We had to provide emergency services balancing saving the lives from the cyclone and the COVID 19 coronavirus in a time.”
“We have to balance between the two disasters and evacuate those wherever it is essential. Otherwise, people are better off in their own homes,” he said.
