Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal claimed more than 80 lives and afffected over 10 million people in parts of West Bengal and Odisha in India and south-west part of Bangladesh. Cyclone Amphan made its landfall in West Bengal between Digha and Hatiya on the afternoon of May 20, as a very severe cyclonic storm with sustained wind speeds of 155-165 kilometres per hour spiralling up to 185 kilometres per hour.
The heavy rainfall brought by the cyclone uprooted over 5,000 trees as well as several lampposts and traffic signals across the state. Apart from human and livestock casualties, the cyclone has caused severe losses to farmers by destroying their standing crops of paddy, mangoes, lychee when it was a time for harvest.Because of the storm power and water supply was interrupted in the state capital Kolkata. Many in the state have lost their entire homes as well.
While most districts of West Bengal are impacted, the Sundarbans region is the worst hit because it is an ecologically fragile zone.Among the worst affected districts in West Bengal are Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, East and West Midnapore, Nadia and East Burdwan.
The financial losses for the state is around 1 lakh crore ($15.38 billion).
