(Updating earlier copy)
New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting with MHA and NDRF to review the response measures against cyclone ‘Amphan’ developing in the Bay of Bengal.
“Prime Minister took full stock of the situation and reviewed the response preparedness as well as the evacuation plan presented by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),” the PMO said in a statement.
During the presentation of the response plan, DG NDRF informed that 25 NDRF teams have been deployed on the ground while 12 others are ready in reserve. 24 other NDRF teams are also on standby in different parts of the country, PMO said.
The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Principal Advisor to Prime Minister- PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, besides other senior officers from the Government.
The meeting was held at 4 PM today in view of the approaching cyclone ‘Amphan’, which may highly affect coastal areas in West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
At this time, when the country is already under an extended lockdown to tackle the spread of Covid-19, it will be a challenging task for the government in these states as well as NDMA, to evacuate people from coastal areas.
The cyclone had already intensified into a ‘Super Cyclonic Storm’ at 11:30 am today. “The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘AMPHAN’ (pronounced as UM-PUN) intensified into Super Cyclonic Storm at 1130 IST of today, the 18th May, 2020,” IMD tweeted earlier today.
Super Cyclone AMPHAN is likely to make landfall between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans as an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained wind 165-175 kmph gusting to 195 kmph in the afternoon/evening of 20th May. pic.twitter.com/Hvb6ORU1Sv
— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 18, 2020
Apart from this, IMD has issued a weather warning for West Bengal and north Odisha coasts. The cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall in Bengal on Wednesday.
Earlier, MHA also issued a warning, saying that the cyclone will hit West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts as a ‘very severe cyclone’ with wind speed up to 185km per hour on Wednesday.
IMD had issued a yellow alert yesterday. The cyclone is likely to cross West Bengal and Bangladesh by May 20 evening, IMD said. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are likely to be affected while Odisha also braces for a severe storm. IMD has also predicted heavy rainfall in these areas and 12 coastal districts are on alert.
Twelve coastal districts in Odisha— Ganjam, Gajapti, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda and Nayagarh—are on high alert.
