A video of dark clouds looming over the Bay of Bengal before Cyclone Remal made landfall between the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts on Sunday night is being widely shared on social media.
The one-minute video, posted by The Daily Star, shows a thick layer of clouds is seen formed in a circle. Heavy winds can also be seen gushing in the video.
The cyclone, which made landfall around 8:30 pm on Sunday, began moving northwards and is continuing to do so, gradually weakening on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
“Cyclonic Storm Remal over Coastal Bangladesh and adj Coastal West Bengal is about 40 km northwest of Mongla, 90 km east of Kolkata, 90 km northeast of Canning. System is initially likely to move north-northeastwards, subsequently northeastwards and gradually weaken further,” the IMD said in its bulletin.
The cyclone caused massive damage and disruption in West Bengal and nearby regions, prompting the authorities to evacuate over a million people during the past two days.
West Bengal, Odisha, and nearby areas witnessed heavy rainfall with gusty winds on Sunday, causing waterlogging in several parts.
According to reports, three people have been injured in rain-related incidents in Kolkata.
Reports of trees uprooting also came to light from Bengal’s Southern Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, D L Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, New Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park and College Street, as well as the city’s adjoining Salt Lake area, reported PTI.
In view of the cyclone, the IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall at most places and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over the coastal districts of West Bengal and eastern districts of Gangetic West Bengal adjacent to Bangladesh on Monday.
The weather department has also predicted light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is likely over Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura on May 27 and 28.
Meanwhile, the IMD issued a ‘red’ alert in two districts of Tripura – Sepahijala and Gumati – in view of the possible impact of cyclone Remal.
Cyclone ‘Remal’ effect in Bangladesh
As the Cyclone ‘Remal’ lashed the coasts of Bangladesh with devastating winds of up to 120 kmph, at least seven people were killed and millions were left without power for over 12 hours. The cyclone heavily affected areas such as Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Satkhira, and Chattogram.
According to officials, one person was washed away by a storm surge while returning home to bring his sister and aunt to a shelter in Patulakhali, while another died in Satkhira after falling as he ran for cover during the storm, reported PTI. Five people were reportedly killed in Barishal, Bhola and Chattogram in rain-related incidents.
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi authorities evacuated nearly 800,000 people from vulnerable areas on Sunday.
(With inputs from agencies)