Guwahati: The extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan is set to make its landfall at the Indian Sundarbans at 5.30 pm on Wednesday. This would be Category 3 storm by then with wind speeds of 100 knots/ 185 kmph. Currently, the wind speed is 95 knots/ 175.418 kmph.
The eye of the cyclone, which is 18 km wide, would bypass Kolkata and pass over Taki, 60 km to the east. Now if the speed is 185 kmph at the eyewall, then 50-60 km away at Kolkata, we are likely to get roughly half the max speed (80-90 kmph).
#CycloneAmphan Updates 20/5/20-
@NDRFHQ @ Evacuation Work in Pathar Pratima, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal#NDRF4U#Committed2Serve #LetsFaceAmphanTogether @NDRFHQ @ndmaindia @PMOIndia @HMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @BhallaAjay26 @DDNewslive @ANI @airnewsalerts pic.twitter.com/uQCQ9HspXY
— ѕαtчα prαdhαnसत्य नारायण प्रधान ସତ୍ଯପ୍ରଧାନ-DG NDRF (@satyaprad1) May 20, 2020
The bigger problem is that the cyclone is moving at a very slow pace with just 14 kmph. From the landfall area at Sundarbans, the distance to Taki is about 120 km. The cyclone would, therefore, affect Kolkata for about eight to nine hours from the evening of 20 May to the morning of 21 May. There would be torrential rain as well during all this time. Sunderbans area and towns of Canning, Taki, Hasnabad, etc are high danger zones.
Few places in the districts of Malda and Dinajpur of West Bengal are expected to receive heavy rainfall on May 20. Similarly, heavy rainfalls are expected on May 21 in maximum districts of Sikkim and sub-Himalayan West Bengal. Meghalaya and Assam are to expect light or moderate rainfall on May 20 with heavy rainfalls in some parts on May 21.
