Cyclone Bulbul hits West Bengal, 2 die
Kolkata/IBNS: Coastal West Bengal suffered damages as Cyclone Bulbul made the landfall on Saturday night, reminding people of the haunting memories of 2008 Cyclone Aila.
The storm made landfall near Sagar Islands in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.
The storm crossed West Bengal coast close to Sundarban Dhanchi forest during 20:30 to 23:30 hours on Saturday with the wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting upto 135kmph.
Khejuri, Nandgram, Nayachar and Ramnagar in East Midnapore and Kakdweep and Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas districts were badly hit by the storm as trees were uprooted and shops and buildings were damaged in the area, reports said.
Kolkata experienced steady rain accompanied by strong winds in the night.
Two deaths have been reported from West Bengal.
Local train service was badly hit in the South 24 Parganas district of the state.
Cyclone Bulbul is about to pass through Bengal. Our State Administration is closely monitoring the situation 24x7. We are taking all measures to tackle any contingency. Special Control Rooms have been set up and NDRF-SDRF teams are deployed. (1/3)
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 9, 2019
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier tweeted: "Cyclone Bulbul is about to pass through Bengal. Our State Administration is closely monitoring the situation 24x7. We are taking all measures to tackle any contingency. Special Control Rooms have been set up and NDRF-SDRF teams are deployed."
Banerjee visited a control room at the state secretariat Nabanna to monitor the situation due to the storm.
The cyclone later hit Bangladesh.
Earlier, Kolkata Airport shut flight operation till 6 am.
