A video of dark clouds looming over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday night before Cyclone Remal made landfall between the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts is widely shared on social media.
The one-minute video, posted by The Daily Star, shows a thick layer of clouds formed in a circle. Heavy winds can also be seen gushing in the video.
Spectacular shot of #CycloneRemal formation in the Bay of #Bengal by Daily Star #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/WWT39HpFou
— Indrajit Kundu | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) May 26, 2024
The cyclone, which made landfall around 8:30 pm on Sunday, began moving northwards and is continuing to do so, gradually weakening on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
“Cyclonic Storm Remal over Coastal Bangladesh and adj Coastal West Bengal is about 40 km northwest of Mongla, 90 km east of Kolkata, 90 km northeast of Canning. System is initially likely to move north-northeastwards, subsequently northeastwards and gradually weaken further,” the IMD said in its bulletin.
The cyclone caused massive damage and disruption in West Bengal and nearby regions, prompting the authorities to evacuate over a million people during the past two days.
West Bengal, Odisha, and nearby areas witnessed heavy rainfall with gusty winds on Sunday, causing waterlogging in several parts.
According to reports, three people have been injured in rain-related incidents in Kolkata.
Reports of trees uprooting also came to light from Bengal’s Southern Avenue, Lake Place, Chetla, D L Khan Road, Dufferin Road, Ballygunge Road, New Alipore, Behala, Jadavpur, Golpark, Hatibagan, Jagat Mukherjee Park and College Street, as well as the city’s adjoining Salt Lake area, reported PTI.
With the cyclone, the IMD has forecasted mild to moderate rainfall in most areas and heavy to very heavy rainfall in a few locations across the eastern districts of Gangetic West Bengal, which is next to Bangladesh, and the coastal districts of West Bengal on Monday.
Along with light to moderate rainfall in most areas, the meteorological service has projected that on May 27 and 28, there will likely be isolated areas of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and Tripura.
Meanwhile, the IMD issued a ‘red’ alert in two districts of Tripura – Sepahijala and Gumati – because of the possible impact of cyclone Remal.
At least seven people lost their lives and millions more went without power for more than 12 hours as Cyclone “Remal” pounded the shores of Bangladesh with destructive winds reaching up to 120 kmph. Areas like Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Satkhira, and Chattogram were severely damaged by the storm.
According to officials, one person was washed away by a storm surge while returning home to bring his sister and aunt to a shelter in Patulakhali, while another died in Satkhira after falling as he ran for cover during the storm, reported PTI. Five people were reportedly killed in Barishal, Bhola and Chattogram in rain-related incidents.
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi authorities evacuated nearly 800,000 people from vulnerable areas on Sunday.