New Delhi:
Cyclone Remal has started the process of landfall between Bangladesh and West Bengal. The process is expected to continue for four hours, the meteorological department has said.
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The met department said, "The forward sector of wall cloud region is entering into land. The landfall process has commenced over coastal areas of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal. It will continue for next 4 hours". Wind speeds are expected to range between 110 and 120 km per hour and gusts can reach up to 135 kmph.
Coastal districts are expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall, while Kolkata and its surroundings may encounter heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting earlier this evening to check the preparedness for Cyclone Remal. He said the Centre has extended full support to the state and must continue to do so. More teams of security forces have been kept on standby, he said.Sixteen battalions each from the state disaster management and NDRF have already been deployed in the coastal areas.
Air and rail traffic have already been shut ahead of the landfall as a precautionary measure. Kolkata airport authorities have suspended flight operations for 21 hours starting at noon today. The Eastern and South Eastern Railways have cancelled several trains.
A total of 394 flights - both international and domestic - will not operate during the flight suspension period, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.
Kolkata and its adjoining districts have been receiving intermittent showers and gusty winds since morning. Traffic has been thin on the roads.
Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim convened a meeting with officials in the afternoon to assess preparedness for the impending cyclone. He added that approximately 15,000 civic employees have been mobilised to address post-cyclone scenarios.
The Bengal government has evacuated around 1.10 lakh people from coastal regions, including the Sundarbans and Sagar Island, to secure shelters.
Authorities in the coastal areas, especially in Digha, Shankarpur, and Tajpur, have issued advisories urging tourists to vacate hotels and refrain from venturing into the seas as a precautionary measure.
In Bangladesh, over 800,000 people from vulnerable areas have been evacuated to shelters on Sunday.
(The Kolkata Police has also announced two helpline numbers - 9432610428 and 9432610429 - for citizens)
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