Cyclone Amphan leaves behind trail of destruction in West Bengal, 12 dead

Extremely severe cyclone 'Amphan' has killed at least 12 persons and ravd Kolkata and several parts of West Bengal as it left behind a trail of destruction by uprooting trees, destroying thousands of homes and swamping low-lying areas of state.

While a man and a woman were killed when trees came crashing down on m in rth 24 Parganas district, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in joining Howrah, officials said. Three persons were killed in Hooghly and rth 24 Paraganas districts due to electrocution, y said.

A woman and her seven-year-old son were killed in Regent park area of Kolkata after a tree fell on m, officials said. y said a person was killed in Kolkata after being hit by a flying object during storm.

West Bengal: Cyclone Amphan wreaks havoc in Kolkata

Senior state officials said it was too early to estimate a toll on life or dam to property as hardest hit areas were still t accessible. Packing heavy rain and winds with speeds of up to 190 kmph, extremely severe cyclone Amphan slammed Digha coast of West Bengal at 2.30 pm on Wednesday, triggering heavy rainfall and gustings in various parts of state.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been monitoring situation at state secretariat Nabanna since Tuesday night, said impact of Amphan was "worse than coronavirus". cyclone barrelled through coastal districts of rth and South 24 Paraganas of Bengal, unleashing copious rain and windstorm, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees, electric poles and swamping low lying towns and vills, officials said.

Cyclone Amphan: UN, B'desh working on preparedness, response activities

Strong winds with speed up to 125 kmph per hour upturned cars in Kolkata and felled trees and electricity poles blocking important ros and intersections. Reports arriving in Kolkata from rth and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore said roofs of thatched houses were blown away, electric poles got twisted and hundreds of trees broken and uprooted.

re was a massive power cut in large parts of Kolkata, rth 24 Paraganas and South Paraganas. mobile and internet services were also down as cyclone h damd several communication towers. 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 breached as surge whipped up by cyclone inundated several kilometers of Island. TV foot showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in Digha and Sunderban region. Thick sheets of rain blurred state's coastline as surging waters engulfed mud-and-thatch houses, flattening m in a trice. Heavy machinery was moved in to clear ros blocked by falling trees. More than five lakh people have been evacuated to safety by state government.

Cyclone Amphan Live Updates: Storm weakens a tch; extensive dam in parts of WB