Madhurima
NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department on Monday said that extremely severe cyclonic storm "Amphan" over the west and central parts of Bay of Bengal has intensified into a "super cyclone" with wind speed above 200 km per hour.
Due to the weather, heavy rainfall is predicted to hit coastal Odisha by Monday evening and West Bengal's coast the subsequent day, IMD's in-charge for cyclones, Sunita Devi said.
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The super cyclone currently lay centred at about 770 km south of Odisha's Paradip, 920 km south-southwest of West Bengal's Digha and 1,040 km south-southwest of Bangladesh's Khepupara.
It is very likely to move nearly northwards for some more time then north-northeastwards across the northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal -Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh on the brink of Sundarbans during the or afternoon-evening of May 20.
According to Vineet Kumar, a researcher at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, this is often the first time that super cyclones got recorded in two consecutive years, Kyarr in 2019 and Amphan this year.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for coastal West Bengal and Odisha, where it said widespread damage is predicted.
The weather agency said that there might be extensive damage to kutcha and old or damaged pucca constructions, uprooting of communications and power transmission poles, disruption of rail and road links, crops and plantations are expected. Large boats, ships also can get torn from moorings.
