Amphan makes landfall in South Dinajpur, administration sends relief material

BALURGHAT: Incessant rainfall accompanied by heavy winds has hit hard the entire South Dinajpur as cyclone Amphan made landfall. An extremely severe cyclone packing winds up to 100 kmph roared since the wee hours of Wednesday night till early Thursday morning. The worst affected areas are Balurghat, Tapan, Kumarganj, Hili and also a large part of Gangarampur, Kushmandi and Banshihari have been severally affected.

An administrative official said the administration is on alert. while the administration is watching the situation closely, it has sent relief materials to the affected people.

The residents of these areas have been greatly affected due to adverse weather like condition. Many of them have lost their belongings as the storm has ruined their huts. Besides property loss, the villagers have lost their domestic cattle along with crops and paddy as well.

A number of people from Kamarpara, Batun, Jhalghar, Laskar, Safanagar, Molladighi of Balurghat, Tapan and Kumarganj blocks were rendered homeless after the storm blew away the roofs of their huts. Apart from damaging huts, the storm uprooted a huge number of trees in the villages.

Since the storm started, power service was disrupted in several areas under Balurghat, Gangarampur, Kushmandi and Tapan as the electric poles fell and high-tension overhead cables snapped at some places. The temporary market in Balurghat was completely damaged and waterlogged.

More than 200 muddy huts were partly or fully collapsed. Many tall trees were broken down in the open areas causing enormous communication problems for the locals. Electric polls were also uprooted due to devastating storms to have caused the powerless of the affected areas.