Kolkata. Cyclone ‘Remal’ wreaked havoc in the coastal areas of West Bengal on Monday. About 29,500 houses in 24 blocks and 79 municipal wards have been partially or completely damaged. The southern coastal areas are among the worst affected. At the same time, at least 10 people died in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and lakhs of people were forced to live without electricity.
When ‘Remal’ hit the coast, strong winds of 120 kilometer (km) per hour blew and hundreds of villages were flooded. The Meteorological Department said that ‘Remal’ weakened slightly on Monday morning and the wind speed was recorded at 80 to 90 kilometers per hour. The department said that apart from this, more than 2,140 trees were uprooted and about 1,700 electricity poles fell in different parts of the state.
Initial assessment has revealed that 27,000 houses have been partially damaged and 2,500 completely damaged. The official told PTI that these figures may increase as the assessment is ongoing to collect data and estimate the damage. The assessment process is still not complete. Data is being collected from the districts and the damage estimate is being calculated.
Officials said that the administration has shifted 2,07,060 people to 1,438 safe shelters. Currently there are 77,288 people there. At present food is being delivered to them through 341 kitchens. 17,738 tarpaulins have been distributed to the affected people in coastal and low-lying areas. The affected areas include Kakdwip, Namkhana, Sagar Island, Diamond Harbor, Fraserganj, Bakkhali and Mandarmani.
Officials said that due to the cyclone, there were minor cracks in the embankments, which were repaired immediately. So far, there has been no report of embankment breaking. Whatever was reported, they were minor and were repaired immediately. So far six people have lost their lives due to the cyclone. One in Kolkata, two women in South 24 Parganas district, one in North 24 Parganas district and a father-son in East Medinipur have died.
Coastal areas have suffered the most damage due to cyclone ‘Remal’. Damage to important infrastructure has been reported in both West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the storm has completely damaged more than 35 lakh houses and affected more than 37.5 lakh people. About 1.5 crore people have been affected by power cuts.
Tags: cyclone update, west bengal
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 27, 2024, 23:20 IST