Cyclone Amphan, one of the strongest storms in recent memory to churn through the Bay of Bengal, turned deadly after roaring ashore in northeastern India Wednesday afternoon local time with the force equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the storm, currently rated as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, made landfall between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. local time along the shores of the Indian state of West Bengal near the Sunderbans. Millions of residents from northeastern India to Bangladesh, many of whom live in low-lying areas, were evacuated ahead of the storm’s arrival the past several days, despite ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns in both countries.
Several fatalities have been blamed on Amphan. AFP reported that Bangladesh officials confirmed at least three deaths including a 5-year-old boy and 75-year-old man who were struck by falling trees. The other victim was an emergency volunteer who drowned.One resident in the Sunderbans’ Ghoramara Island told Reuters by phone that the storm had damaged numerous houses. The Times of India said over 5,500 homes were damaged, and two people were killed in West Bengal.Amphan had weakened a bit prior to landfall, but it still packed a significant punch. Its maximum sustained winds were around 155-165 km/h (96-102 mph) and gusts reached 185 km/h (114 mph) as it blasted coastal areas Wednesday. Wind-whipped rain lashed the West Bengal capital of Kalkata. Streets were waterlogged throughout the city after more than 3 inches of rain fell, and there were reports of damage to buildings, the Times of India said.
meteorologists, who have been tracking the development of the storm for the past two weeks, say Amphan will continue to pose an extreme risk to lives and property due to its heavy rain, powerful storm surge and punishing winds even as it moves inland into Thursday.Due to the strength of the cyclone and potential extreme risk to
lives and property, Amphan has been rated a 4 on the RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones.
After slowly tracking through the Bay of Bengal as a tropical low for over a week, the storm entered environmental conditions more conducive for tropical development. It formed into a depression on Saturday and greatly increased in size and power by Monday.Amphan became a super cyclonic storm on Monday night local time, the highest level on India’s tropical cyclone scale, and was producing winds around 220 km/h (173 mph). According to Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls, Amphan is the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha Cyclone. That cyclone in 1999 produced winds up to 260 km/h (160 mph).
The region has been hit by some of the most devastating cyclones in the world, in part due to similar factors compounding the dangers with Amphan, including the shape of the coastline and low elevation. The ‘Great Cyclone Bhola’ that struck in November of 1970 is estimated to have killed between 300,000 and 500,000 people in West Bengal in India and what is now Bangladesh but was then East Pakistan, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Nearly 50 years later, Bhola still stands as the deadliest cyclone in the world.
Just over 20 years later, the 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone led to more than 138,866 fatalities and is the fifth deadliest tropical cyclone in world history.Due to the shape of the coast and its low-lying elevation, storm surge can be a particularly deadly threat and remains one of the biggest concerns with Amphan. the forecasters were calling for a storm surge of 10-20 feet (3-6 meters)”Due to the widespread low elevation across southern Bangladesh and southern West Bengal, coastal flooding will be a major concern as winds push water from the Bay of Bengal onshore,” Senior Meteorologists said. Much of that area is barely above sea level, making it prone to disastrous flooding. Adding to the low elevation is the shape of the coastline. Because the coastline is concave, storm surge caused by the cyclone can be especially destructive.meteorologists say as the storm continues to push inland, it will produce widespread rainfall of 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) from eastern Odisha to West Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh into Thursday, local time and 20 inches (500 mm) is likely over the upslope areas of the Himalayan foothills.
reference – accuweather