The ‘Severe Cyclonic Storm Remal’ has weakened into a ‘Cyclonic Storm’ on Monday morning, the Meteorological Department said.
Sunderbans in South 24 Parganas district has been the most affected. Torrential rains have been reported in various parts of the state. Many areas have been inundated. Electric poles and trees have been uprooted and houses damaged mainly in South and North 24 Parganas districts and Kolkata, which will go to polls on June 1.
More than 300 houses have been damaged and 1,200 electric poles uprooted while houses and farmlands have been flooded, sources at state secretariat Nabanna said.
Following Cyclone Remal, there was waterlogging in parts of Kolkata. Nine disaster relief teams are on standby. Two ships of the Indian Navy are prepared with supplies and medical aid. Specialised diving and flood relief teams are also ready to respond.
According to the weather office, Kolkata alone recorded 144 mm of rain on Sunday night. The cyclone has led to significant disruptions in air, rail and road transportation in Kolkata and other parts of southern Bengal, they said. Flights services from the Kolkata airport resumed at 9am on Monday after remaining suspended for 21 hours, an official said on Monday.An elderly woman in Mousuni Island, who went to her kitchen, sustained severe injuries which eventually led to her death, when a tree fell on her ‘kutchha’ house. A father-son duo died in East Burdwan’s Memari while cutting banana trees on Monday morning. The mishap happened when Fore Singh tried to remove a banana tree which was entangled in an electric wire. Singh’s son Tarun Singh tried to rescue his father and both were electrocuted.In another incident, a 22-year-old youth was electrocuted in North 24 Parganas’ . Another woman died as she got electrocuted in South 24 Parganas district’s Maheshtala. A 51-year-old man was killed when a piece of concrete collapsed in Kolkata’s Bibibagan on Sunday night.
