Cyclone Amphan hits India and Bangladesh with winds over 100 mph as millions are evacuated.
The West Bengal government has also asked that the special trains for migrant workers be suspended, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The densely populated city of Kolkata, which has nearly 1,500 cases of the coronavirus, is likely to see flooding, while some centuries-old buildings in the northern half of the city could collapse due to the strong winds. Pradeep Jena, the Odisha state official, said the state has over 800 centers that are used during floods or cyclones, each holding 2,000 to 3,000 people. Of these, 242 were being used as quarantine centers. He said there was no precedent for managing a cyclone in the midst of a pandemic, and the need to maintain social distance means the state would need many more shelters than usual.
The region is no stranger to devastating cyclones. But it is not the frequency of these cyclones, but the intensity of their wind speeds that have increased due to climate change and warming, said K.J. Ramesh, former chief of India’s meteorological department.
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