Amphan is approaching and could cause enormous damage. India and Bangladesh are evacuating hundreds of thousands of people from their shores on Monday as they approach a cyclone that could be the most powerful to hit the region since 2007.
Cyclone Amphan is currently advancing in the Bay of Bengal, off India, with winds of up to 230 km / h. It should land on Wednesday in West Bengal (India) or Bangladesh, accompanied by winds of around 155-165 km / h and heavy rain, according to Indian forecasters.
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm 'AMPHAN': 18th May 2020 (1000 to 1027 IST). Likely to intensify further as Super Cyclone. pic.twitter.com/iJK0RVpQtY
- India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 18, 2020Cyclone #Amphan reaches the equivalent of category 4 to 5. The maximum stage of the Indian cyclonic scale (Super Cyclonic Storm) is expected by 12UTC with a maximum intensity this evening (winds ~ 240 km / h / 3mn) before weakening very slowly then going up towards the north. pic.twitter.com/L35zPifsQV
- Etienne Kapikian (@EKMeteo) May 18, 2020"It could be the most powerful cyclone to hit the region since Cyclone Sidr," which killed more than 3,000 people in November 2007, said Bazlur Rashid, not responsible for the Bangladesh meteorological department.
Shelters and… social distancing
At least 450,000 people are being evacuated from the coastal province of Barisal in Bangladesh. The authorities are preparing 4,000 shelters to accommodate the population. Officials are warning more and more shelters than in previous cyclones, trying to enforce physical distance as part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
In India, more than 200,000 people will be evacuated by Tuesday from low-lying areas of West Bengal, said Manturam Phakira, a minister of state. In the neighboring Odisha region, authorities have prepared shelters to accommodate up to 1.1 million people. But they expect to finally escape the bulk of the cyclone and use only 10% of these capacities.
