The death toll in Super Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal increased to 72, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday. Fifteen of the deceased were from Kolkata, she said.
Ms. Banerjee, who met senior officials at the State Secretariat to take stock of the damage, said she had not seen such a disaster in her life. “I haven’t seen such a disaster in my entire life. I will ask the Prime Minister to visit the State and see it for himself.”
She said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called her up, and she informed him of the enormity of the disaster. She said the impact of the cyclone was so severe that Nabanna, the State Secretariat building, shook.
Deaths were reported from eight districts. South 24 Parganas recorded the maximum of 18 deaths, followed by North 24 Parganas with 17 deaths. People also died in Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Medinipur and Nadia. The deaths were mainly due to the falling of trees, electrocution and the collapse of poorly built houses.
Such areas as Kakdwip and Namkhana in South 24 Parganas and Minakha and Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas were the worst affected by the cyclone, which made landfall near Sagar Island. Damage has been reported from eight districts, but the maximum damage has occurred in the coastal districts, including South and North 24 Parganas. Thousands of ‘katcha’ houses were damaged in the two districts and a large part of the Sunderbans police district was inundated because of the storm surge, which was four-five metres above the tide level.
Ms. Banerjee said she would visit the affected areas after three to four days, once connectivity was restored. “There is no telephone connection and there is no electricity in these parts of the State.” She said the government had set up a ₹1,000-crore relief fund. The government has evacuated five lakh people and kept them in cyclone shelters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to West Bengal and Odisha on Friday to take stock of the situation, the Prime Minister’s Office said. “He will conduct aerial surveys and take part in review meetings,” the PMO said in a tweet.
