Barreling through coastal districts, Cyclone Bulbul hits WB affecting over 2 Lakh families

Kolkata, November 11: Taking nature for granted, it seldom happens that nature hits you back. But this time, after all the chaos created by humankind, the nature is hitting back severely as cyclones wreak havoc in coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal. The recent Cyclone Bulbul claimed at least ten lives and affected 2.73 lakh families as it hit the coastal districts of West Bengal on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the situation after Cyclone Bulbul brought heavy rains in parts of Odisha and West Bengal. He also spoke with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and assured her of all possible assistance from the Centre.

 

Entering the coastal districts, the cyclone then smashed into the low-lying areas of neighbouring Bangladesh, killing at least 8 people and injuring 15. The severe cyclonic storm brought in heavy rain coupled with strong winds, uprooting trees and snapped cables in Kolkata and its adjoining areas, bring normal life to a near-halt.

In Odisha, due to cyclone Bulbul, 8218 people were shifted to 108 relief camps, around 5,500 houses were damaged and power and communication were disrupted after a large number of trees were uprooted. In West Bengal, cyclone Bulbul affected nearly 2.94 lakh people, damaged around 60,000 houses and caused extensive damage to crops.

After making landfall at a speed of 110 to 120 kmph between West Bengal’s Sagar Islands and Khepupara in Bangladesh on Sunday early in the morning. According to IMD, severe cyclonic storm Bulbul weakened gradually as it moved towards coastal Bangladesh and adjoining South and North 24 Parganas districts of Bengal. Heavy rains lashed coastal West Bengal throughout Saturday, uprooting trees. Gale wind with gusts up to 135 kmph prevailed off the coastal and adjoining districts of West and East Midnapore, South and North 24 Parganas as the eye of the storm made landfall around midnight.