Cyclone Amphan: Toll rises to 72, Mamata Banerjee announces Rs 2 lakh compensation

Cyclone Amphan Updates: The death toll due to devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan rose to 72 across West Bengal of which 15 are from Kolkata. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakhs for those affected. " I have never seen such a disaster before. I will ask PM to visit the state and see the situation, " she said.

The extent of the structural damage caused by Cyclone Amphan is evident from visuals of airport hangars in Kolkata collapsing and water inundating runaways. The Cyclone also left a trail of destruction (see photos here) in other parts of West Bengal and Odisha.

Weakening into a deep depression, the cyclone has now moved north-northeastwards and lay centered over Bangladesh about 300 km east-northeast of Kolkata, 110 km south-southeast of Dhubri and 80 km south-southeast of Rangpur in Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest bulletin. It is very likely to further weaken into a depression later today and further into a well marked low thereafter, the IMD added.

The cyclone hit the states at a time when it is already struggling to fight the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

(Input and image from theindianexpress.com)