‘Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 27: At least two persons were killed and normal life was affected as the severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ battered past coastal areas of West Bengal including Kolkata leaving behind a trail of destruction with trees uprooted, houses damaged and embankments breached in the coastal areas of the State.
In the neighbouring Bangladesh, which bore the main brunt of the landfall point of the cyclonic storm, at least 10 people were killed and millions were left without power as ‘Remal’ lashed the coasts of Bangladesh with devastating winds of up to 120 kph and storm surges, inundating hundreds of villages.
Top officials in Bangladesh said more than 30,000 homes were destroyed and tens of thousands more damaged, “Most of the people died after they were crushed under fallen houses or collapsed walls,” said Showkat Ali, government administrator of Barisal district, where seven people died. Three others died in neighbouring districts, some by drowning.
Remal weakened into a cyclonic storm on Monday morning, sustaining wind speeds of 80-90 kilometres per hour, following landfall around midnight of Sunday, the Met Department said. The department said the weather system, which lay 150 km northeast of Gangasagar Island at 5.30 a.m., brought torrential rain and moved north-eastwards to weaken further into a cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
“It lay centred at 01:30 hrs IST of today, the 27th May, 2024 over Coastal Bangladesh and adjoining Coastal West Bengal, near latitude 21.9°N and longitude 89,2°E about 115 km east of Sagar Islands (West Bengal), 105 km west-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), 70 km southeast of Canning (West Bengal) and SO km south-southwest of Mongla (Bangladesh), The system would continue to move nearly northwards for some more time and then north-northeastwards and weaken gradually into a Cyclonic Storm by morning of May 27,” said IMD in a post on X.
Flights resume at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport on Monday morning after 21 hours of closure since Sunday. The long distance, local and metro train services also resumed in South section of Sealdah Division at 9 a.m.
Remal left a trail of destruction in its wake. Roofs of thatched huts were blown away, trees uprooted and electric poles knocked down, causing significant disruption in various parts of the state, including Kolkata. “56 trees uprooted, attempts to remove the trees on,” said Kolkata Municipal Corporal Mayor Firhad Hakim.
“Nearly 15,000 houses in 24 blocks and 79 municipal wards, mostly in the southern coastal areas of West Bengal, were affected by Cyclone Remal,” a senior official of the State government said. “At least 2,140 trees were uprooted in various parts of the State which also witnessed the falling of 337 electric poles,” he added.
“According to the initial evaluation, at least 14,941 houses were damaged, out of which 13,938 were partially affected while 1,003 were destroyed,” he said. “The figures will probably increase after another round of evaluation. Our officials in the districts are working and the process of evaluation is still on. The estimation of the damage is being calculated,” the official said.
“The administration had shifted 2,07,060 people to the 1,438 safe shelters,” he said, adding that at the moment there are 77,288 people. “There are 341 gruel kitchens being operated at the moment. We have distributed 17,738 tarpaulin to the affected people in the coastal and low-lying areas,” he said. The affected areas included Kakdwip, Namkhana, Sagar Island, Diamond Harbour, Fraserganj, Bakkhali and Mandarmani.
“West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep concern over the impact of Cyclone Remal in Sundarbans and other coastal areas of the State as she took stock of the situation,” an official said. She spoke with Chief Secretary B. P. Gopalika to assess the extent of devastation caused by the cyclone and the measures being taken to address the aftermath.
“The CM spoke to the Chief Secretary over the phone and enquired about the number of lives lost and injured as a result of Cyclone Remal. She also enquired about the extent of damage, including uprooted electric poles and trees and the progress of restoration efforts,” the official said.
Fierce gales and crashing waves battered the coast as Cyclone Remal made landfall on May 26. By Monday afternoon, it had weakened into a storm, but winds and rain still lashed the coast. “Heavy rains unleashed by the cyclone are going on, and the wind speed is also high,” officials in Bangladesh said.
In Khulan district, two people died, government administrator Helal Mahmud said. “The cyclone has damaged more than 1,23,000 homes in the division, and among them some 31,000 homes were completely damaged,” he said.
Another person died in Chittagong, where “more than 40,000 people are still in cyclone shelters due to heavy rains and strong wind”, administrator Tofael Islam said. Power was knocked out to more than 12.5 million people, said Biswanath Sikder, chief engineer of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, the country’s largest state-run power distribution company.
In Kolkata, Sheikh Sajid, (51) was killed at Entally area when the roof of a structure came crashing down on him. Renuka Mondal (80) in Kolkata was reported dead at Mousuni Island at the mouth Bay of Bengal when a tree fell on the roof of her house. Three persons were injured and vehicular movement was disrupted as trees lay uprooted in several parts of Kolkata. Around 68 trees were uprooted in Kolkata, and another 75 in nearby Salt Lake and Rajarhat area.
The IMD has issued a red alert in two Tripura districts – Sepahijala and Gumati – in view of the possible impact of cyclone Remal, an official said. An orange alert has also been sounded in the remaining six districts of the north-eastern State which is likely to witness heavy rain and gusty winds as a result of the cyclone.
“A red alert has been sounded in Sepahijala and Gumati districts in anticipation of heavy to very heavy rainfall during the day while an orange alert has been sounded in the remaining six districts of the state”, Director of Indian Meteorological department, Agartala, Partha Roy said.
Several districts of Assam are also on high alert in the wake of forecast for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from Monday under the impact of Cyclone Remal, The Northeast Frontier Railway, in a release, said 42 trains have been cancelled for two days from Monday. Several parts of Assam, including Guwahati, received rainfall since late Sunday evening, bringing down soaring mercury levels in the State.
Kolkata recorded a rainfall of 146 mm in the period between 8.30 a.m. on Sunday and 5.30 a.m. of Monday. Other places in south Bengal which received heavy rainfall during the period are Haldia (110 mm), Tamluk (70 mm) and Nimpith (70 mm), it said.