Cyclone Amphan: First arm touches land along West Bengal coast, storm to reach near Kolkata by evening, says IMD

New Delhi: Cyclone Amphan is currently crossing the West Bengal coast near the Sunderbans and will reach near Kolkata by evening, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday as the storm was making landfall.

He said strong winds with an intensity of 160 kilometres per hour have commenced in coastal West Bengal districts. “The first arm of Cyclone Amphan has touched the land. The eye of the cyclone is expected to touch land anytime,” he said. “Landfall process started at 2.30 pm with the entry of the front sector of the wall cloud region,” he said. The width of the wall cloud is around 120 kilometres and the diameter of the eye is about 40 kilometres. The rear side is about 120 kilometres and the entire process will be completed by 3-4 hours. South and North 24 Parganas will witness a lull as the eye of cyclone passes through, but heavy rains, strong winds will resume in the next 30 minutes. “We are hopeful that by 7 pm the entire cyclone will enter the land,” he added. Mohapatra also asserted that the forecast of the cyclone was accurate. India has also been issuing cyclone warning to Bangladesh, he added.