72 people have died due to Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, the day after the powerful cyclone destroyed thousands of homes, uprooting trees, electric poles and flooding low lying areas, leaving authorities struggling to mount relief efforts amid the corona crisis. “There are casualties. I announce a compensation of Rs 2.5 Lakh to the families of these who died in Cyclone Amphan,” the chief Minister also mentioned at Nabanna, the state’s secretariat. Ms Banerjee said, she had never seen such a disaster before and can ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come and see those damages.
The Chief Minister had last evening said the impact of Amphan was worse than the coronavirus pandemic and claimed damages of property worth of Rs 1 lakh crore. Thursday afternoon The PM has tweeted and said that whole nation stands with Bengal and “no stone are going to be left unturned” to assist those affected. Bengal took the brunt of Cyclone Amphan, which barrelled into the Digha coast with gusting winds of up to 185 km per hour.
Strong winds with speed up to 125 kmph per hour upturned cars in Kolkata and left trees and electricity poles torn off and blocking roads. Portions of several battered buildings came crashing down in Kolkata. The Kolkata airport, which had been shut, was left flooded and lots of structures within damaged.
