PM Modi’s Meeting on Amphan Cyclone, Strategy Made to Deal with Challenges

On May 18, 2020

New Delhi : An emergency meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the cyclone storm at the Prime Minister’s residence. Home Minister Amit Shah, all Home Ministry officials and officials of NDMA and NDRF were present in the meeting. The meeting considered the preparedness of the cyclone Amphan and its impact and a strategy for the relief and rescue work was prepared.

Cyclonic storm Amphan will take a severe form by Monday evening and this may cause heavy rains with strong winds along the coastal areas of Odisha and areas near the Ganges River in West Bengal. Yellow alert has been issued in 13 districts of Kerala.

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds meeting with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) & National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials to review the situation arising out of #CycloneAmphan in different parts of the country. Home Minister Amit Shah also present. pic.twitter.com/cxR5rXbsGf
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2020

IMD Predicts Heavy Rain
The Meteorological Department said that the cyclone will cause heavy rains with strong winds in coastal Odisha and West Bengal. While the Odisha government is preparing to evacuate 11 lakh people living in sensitive areas, the West Bengal government has issued an alert for the coastal districts and has sent relief teams. The Meteorological Department has issued an Orange Warning for West Bengal and said that Amphan will pass between West Bengal and Bangladesh coast between Hatia Island in Bangladesh and Digha in West Bengal as a very severe storm during afternoon or evening on May 20. During this time winds will be at a speed of 155-165 kmph, which can catch a speed of 185 kmph anytime.

Heavy rainfall lashes Mangalore pic.twitter.com/cG1GwGUJLe
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2020

The Meteorological Department said that very strong winds could cause a lot of damage to the raw houses and some damage to the cement houses. Meteorologists have said that strong winds can damage power and communications poles, disrupt railway services to some extent, and power wires and signal systems passing over the top, and finished crops, farms – Gardens may suffer extensive damage.

On May 3 last year, a year before Cyclone Amphan, Hurricane Phani wreaked havoc in Odisha and devastated the infrastructure of power, telecom, water and other critical sectors, killing 64 people.