As the severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ makes landfall between Bangladesh and the West Bengal coast, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) announced on Monday that it is vigilantly tracking the cyclone’s landfall. They have a disaster response team, ships, and hovercraft ready to address post-impact challenges at a moment’s notice.
The ICG also urged the public to adhere to official advisories, stay informed, and remain safe. They posted on X: “Update cyclone #Remal @IndiaCoastGuard is closely monitoring the landfall of cyclone #Remal with the disaster response team, Ships, and Hovercraft standby at short notice to respond to post-impact challenges. Follow official advisories, Stay informed, and stay safe.”
Following the cyclone’s landfall, heavy rain caused waterlogging in parts of Kolkata. Footage from the Race Course Area showed people and vehicles navigating flooded streets. In Kolkata’s Alipore area, several trees were uprooted due to the heavy rain and strong winds that hit various parts of West Bengal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported on Monday that storm ‘Remal’ would continue moving northwards for a while before shifting to a north-northeast direction and gradually weakening into a Cyclonic Storm. According to the IMD, the cyclone moved northward, crossing the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal between Sagar Islands and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla.
“The Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Remal‘ over the North Bay of Bengal moved nearly northwards, with a speed of 13 kmph during past 06 hours, crossed Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal Coasts between Sagar Islands and Khepupara close to southwest of Mongla near Latitude 21.75°N and Longitude 89.2°E between 22:30 hrs IST of 26th May to 00:30 hrs IST of 27th May 2024 as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with wind speed of 110 to 120 Kmph gusting to 135 Kmph,” said IMD in a post on X. “It lay centred at 01:30 hrs IST of today, the 27th May, 2024 over Coastal Bangladesh and adjoining Coastal West Bengal, near latitude 21.9°N and longitude 89,2°E about 115 km east of Sagar Islands (West Bengal), 105 km west-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), 70 km southeast of Canning (West Bengal) and 50 km south-southwest of Mongla (Bangladesh). The system would continue to move nearly northwards for some more time and then north-northeastwards and weaken gradually into a Cyclonic Storm by morning of 27,” added the post.
Kolkata Municipality and Kolkata Police Disaster Management teams are actively clearing uprooted trees in the city. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on Sunday to review the cyclone preparedness. He directed the Union Home Ministry to monitor the situation and assess the post-landfall scenario to provide necessary restoration assistance.
During the meeting at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, the Prime Minister emphasized that besides the 12 National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams already deployed in West Bengal and one in Odisha, additional teams should be on standby to mobilize within an hour, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).