Odisha, West Bengal evacuated 1.5 lakh, 3.3 lakh people ahead of Amphan landfall: NDRF DG

New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General SN Pradhan on Wednesday said that Odisha and West Bengal have evacuated nearly 1.5 lakh and 3.3 lakh people respectively ahead of the landfall of cyclone Amphan today.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Amphan is likely to make landfall between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans near afternoon today and is likely to cause havoc in parts of Odisha and West Bengal.
"The Odisha government control room has informed that nearly 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated from six district of the state. Some districts like Balasore and Bhadrak will be more affected. So more people from these district have been evacuated," Pradhan told ANI.
He said that according to the latest ground report, 20 teams of NDRF are deployed in Odisha, of which 16 teams were there overnight and four more were called in this morning.
"The West Bengal government has informed that around 3.3 lakh people from seven districts have been evacuated. North Pargana, East Midnapore will be more affected. So authorities have evacuated more people from these areas," Pradhan said.
"Wind speed has picked up near coastal Odisha and is blowing at around 100 kmph at Paradip. Wind is not that strong in West Bengal. We're looking at the time and possible speed of Amphan's landing," he added.
Pradhan said that as per the IMD, storm surge could be four to six meters of seawater which will enter land area.
NDRF teams are coordinating with local administration for storm surge response and a total of 41 teams are deployed in Odisha and West Bengal, he said.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is also closely monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal and ships at Visakhapatnam have been kept on standby to proceed to affected areas to undertake humanitarian aid, evacuation, and logistic support. (ANI)