'Bengal will fight back': CM Mamata confirms 80 dead & 60% people hit by Cyclone Amphan

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing media on Friday morning over Cyclone Amphan said that evacuation measures helped in saving people. Speaking to media, she said, "We had warning much before. God saved us as we mand to evacuate at least six lakh people." Chief Minister furr added that "people of Bengal will fight back."

Speaking about effects of devastating cyclone, CM said that while 60 percent of people in state have been affected, 80 people have lost ir lives. Mamata Banerjee will be visiting and taking stock of  24 Parganas district which has been worst-affected. She will also conduct a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting West Bengal to take stock of situation. 

Read: PM Modi to survey Cyclone Amphan-hit areas of West Bengal & Odisha; here's his schedule

PM Modi to chair two review meeting s

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached West Bengal on Friday morning to take stock of situation in wake of Cyclone Amphan and took off with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and state's Goverr Jagdeep Dhankar for an aerial survey. Prime Minister will attend a meeting at Basirhat along with state officials after which he will leave once more for Kolkata airport to go to Odisha. Sources said that he will arrive at Bhubaneswar Airport around 3 pm from where he will conduct an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in an MI-17 helicopter and attend a review meeting. 

Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal

Cyclone Amphan which reported winds up to 190 kmph made landfall at Digha coast of West Bengal at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, hitting Kolkata a few hours later. re were widespread power cuts in large parts of Kolkata, rth 24 Paraganas, and South Paraganas. Mobile and internet services were also down in parts as cyclone had damd several communication towers. 

Read: Cyclone Amphan: PM to visit affected areas in Odisha, Bengal; to conduct review meetings

Streets and homes in low lying areas of Kolkata were swamped with rainwater. Portions of several dilapidated buildings came crashing down in Kolkata and or parts of state. Embankments in Sundarban delta - a UNESCO site - were also breached as surge whipped up by cyclone inundated several kilometers of island. 

Read: Cyclone Amphan LIVE Updates: PM Modi to visit Odisha and WB on May 22 to review situation

Read: Cyclone Amphan: PM to visit affected areas in Odisha, Bengal; to conduct review meetings