Cyclone Bulbul hit Bakkhali in Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday evening.
Cyclone Bulbul made landfall between the West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts amid a state of high alert on Saturday night. It brought along heavy rain and winds raging at speeds of at least 120 kilometres per hour. Taking passenger safety into consideration, the Kolkata airport suspended flights for 12 hours starting 6 pm on Saturday. Two people were reportedly killed in rain-related incidents across Odisha and Bengal, and the authorities are taking precautionary measures to prevent further deaths. The National Disaster Force has kept 34 teams on standby across the region.
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Two people have already been killed in Odisha and Bengal. News agency PTI reported that while an elderly man died in Odisha's Kendrapara district due to wall collapse, another died at a club in Bengal's Kolkata after a tree fell on him.
Operations at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport were stopped till 6 am today, news agency PTI quoted a Home Ministry spokesperson as saying.
Fishing operations have been suspended in Bengal and Odisha, and people in low-lying areas were evacuated to shelter homes in safer areas. Rail and road traffic are also being regulated.
At South 24 Parganas, some 200 people took shelter at Sagar Pilot Station of the Kolkata Port Trust. Villagers were served food by the commander, pilots and staff of the port facility, news agency ANI reported.
"We are taking all measures to tackle any contingency. Special Control Rooms have been set up, and NDRF-SDRF teams are deployed," Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Ms Banerjee said schools, colleges and anganwadi centres in the state have been closed, and over 1.2 lakh people evacuated from vulnerable areas on the coast. "Be alert, take care and stay safe," she added.
The Navy has kept its aircraft and three ships with relief material on standby at Visakhapatnam. They will be deployed to areas affected by the cyclone when the requirement arises.
In Odisha, the Cyclone Bulbul brought heavy rains and winds with speeds ranging between 70-80 km per hour. Authorities are keeping an eye on the situation.
Bhubaneswar IMD Director HR Biswas has said that the north coastal districts of Jagatsingh, Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Kendraprada are most likely to be affected.
Authorities in neighbouring Bangladesh had evacuated around 100,000 people from low-lying coastal villages and islands as a precautionary measure.
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