The West Bengal government has relocated over one lakh people to cyclone shelters as the severe cyclonic storm Remal began making landfall on Sunday evening between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh. According to the Met office, the storm’s intensity reached 110 to 120 kmph, with gusts up to 135 kmph.

At 8:30 PM, Remal’s center was about 30 km from the coastline, and the landfall process, which will continue for about four hours, had commenced. The Met department reported that the storm was impacting the areas between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara near Mongla in Bangladesh.

Gale winds, with speeds ranging from 110 to 120 kmph and gusts up to 135 kmph, were affecting the West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts as well as the north Bay of Bengal. These conditions are expected to persist for the next six hours before gradually decreasing.

What Did The WB Authorities Say On Cyclone Remal

Police officials from South and North 24 Parganas districts reported that the state government evacuated around 1,10,000 people from coastal regions, including Sundarbans and Sagar Island, to cyclone shelters by Sunday evening. The state deployed disaster management staff and NDRF personnel along the coastal belt for rescue and relief operations.

A centralized control unit was established at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to monitor the situation.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials announced that the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata was shut down from Sunday noon until 9 am on Monday, resulting in the cancellation of all 394 domestic and international flights.

NSCBI airport director C Pattabhi stated that, in response to Cyclone Remal’s impact on West Bengal’s coastal region, including Kolkata, stakeholders held a meeting and decided to suspend flight operations from noon on May 26 to 9 am on May 27 due to anticipated heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata.

Many Trains Have Also Been Cancelled 

The Eastern Railway cancelled several local trains in the Sealdah and Howrah divisions. An official stated that train services in the Sealdah South section and the Barasat-Hasnabad section of the Sealdah division were suspended from 11 pm on Sunday to 6 am on Monday, affecting several EMU local trains.

By Sunday evening, the approaching landfall of Cyclone Remal disrupted rail and road traffic in Kolkata and other parts of south Bengal. Highways appeared deserted, according to police officials from the districts. The Kolkata Police provided two helpline numbers – 9432610428 and 9432610429 – for citizens.

Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “Safety of people comes first,” announcing the cancellation of several rallies, including those to be addressed by the state president, Sukanta Majumdar.

Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also cancelled his roadshow at Basirhat constituency in North 24 Parganas.

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