“Sorbanash hoye galo (it is a catastrophe),” the West Bengal CM said, calling the aftermath of the cyclone “worse than coronavirus”.
Kolkata| After the cyclone Amphan left the state of West Bengal devastated, with buildings destroyed, trees uprooted, power lines, and road damaged, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it a “catastrophe”. 12 people have lost their lives and the numbers could go up, she said last night at her office in Kolkata, where a control room to monitor the situation has been set up.
“Sarbanash hoye galo (it is a catastrophe),” the West Bengal CM said, calling the aftermath of the cyclone “worse than coronavirus”.
She referred to the impact of cyclone Amphan as “tandav (dance of fury)”, the worst ever cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal over the years.
“I am sitting in the war room. My office in Nabanna is shaking. I am tackling a difficult situation on a war footing,” Mamata said on Wednesday evening.
The cyclone majorly affected the coastal districts of north and south 24 Paraganas in the state with a very heavy rain and windstorm. The intense cyclone blew away hatched houses, uprooted trees, electric poles thereby creating blockages on roads. It has also flooded the low lying areas.
Strong wind speeding at 125 kmph upturned many cars in Kolkata while it left electricity poles and trees torn off.
“Area after area has been devastated. Communications are disrupted,” Mamata Banerjee said, adding that over 5 lakh people have been evacuated, however, the authorities had not entirely anticipated the ferocity of the storm.
She also estimated damages worth 1 lakh crore.
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