Heavy rainfall and strong winds hit the West Bengal at the eastern coast which is few kilometres away from the approaching Amphan ‘super cyclone’ and the reports suggest that it is expected to make landfall tomorrow.

Rainfall and strong winds hit Digha and Kolkata in West Bengal on Tuesday afternoon, a day before the date for which the IMD predicted the super cyclone to make landfall in the state.

According to IMD, the super cyclone was formed over the south-east Bay of Bengal on the evening of May 16.

“Extensive damage to all types of kutcha houses, some damage to old badly managed Pucca structures. The potential threat from flying objects. Extensive uprooting of communication and power poles,” IMD said in a tweet giving an estimate of expected damages.

“Disruption of rail/road link at several places. Extensive damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards. Blowing down of Palm and coconut trees. The uprooting of large bushy trees. Large boats and ships may get torn from their moorings,” it added.

As many as 41 teams are pre-positioned to carry out evacuation and awareness in both the Orissa and West Bengal which are likely to be affected by the impending cyclone Amphan, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said on Tuesday.

“Nineteen teams are on the ground, while two are on standby in six districts of West Bengal. In Odisha, out of the 20 teams, 15 are actively deployed in seven districts,” said Director General SN Pradhan in a press briefing.

He told that the evacuation is being carried out in areas which are likely to be affected. “In Cyclone shelter homes, where 1,000 people can be accommodated, keeping social distancing in mind, only 400-500 people will be kept,” he said.

“This is the second disaster coming as we are already fighting COVID-19. This requires continuous monitoring. We are calling it a cyclone in the times of COVID-19,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP president J P Nadda also asked his party members to join in evacuation and relief operations in states being hit by Amphan, and urged them to do so in cooperation with the local administration.

For West Bengal and Orissa, it is a ‘double-trouble’ as the states are already facilitating a huge number of migrant workers coming back due to the nationwide lockdown in view of coronavirus crisis.

Keeping in view of the Amphan cyclone, Orissa has cancelled many of the trains meant to ferry migrant workers from other states.

Not only India but Bangladesh, which will also be affected, has started operation against the forthcoming disaster. The neighbouring country has evacuated people from its coastal areas.

According to reports, in Bangladesh, it will be the most powerful storm since cyclone Sidr that killed about 3,500 in 2007.

Officials in Bangladesh fear it will be the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr killed about 3,500 people in 2007. Most died as a result of sea-water surging in.

For India, the battle against Covid is far from over as the number of cases have crossed the 1 lakh mark even after the consecutive four terms of nationwide lockdown.

Amid the major health crisis which has taken the entire planet in its grip, the super cyclon knocking the doors of India and Bangladesh is a serious concern.