Cyclone Remal passed through West Bengal and Bangladesh's coast, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, uprooting trees and flooding houses and streets in coastal areas. IMD has predicted that the storm is likely to weaken on Monday.
As per the latest update from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Tropical Cyclone Remal is now set to weaken. The cyclone has now crossed the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts and is expected to weaken into a Cyclonic storm as it moves northwards.
As per the latest update, Cyclone Remal has caused a massive power outage across Bangladesh and killed at least four people - two in West Bengal and two in Dhaka. The cyclone also displaced many - about 800,000 in Bangladesh, and 110,000 in India - as part of evacuation efforts.
Over the past few days, Cyclone Remal's has brought heavy winds and rainfall West Bengal and Bangladesh.
"The Severe Cyclonic Storm “Remal” (pronounced as “Re-Mal”) crossed the 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 2230 hrs IST of 26th May to 0030 hrs IST of 27th May 2024 as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with wind speed of 110 to 120 Kmph gusting to 135 Kmph," stated IMD.
IMD has further added that Cyclone Remal would continue to move northwards and will gradually weaken into a Cyclonic storm by Monday morning.
"The system is likely to move north-northeastwards and gradually weaken into a Cyclonic Storm during next 3 hours. Thereafter, it would move northeastward and gradually weaken further," the weather department added further.
As a result of tropical cyclone Remal, NDRF teams situated in West Bengal have been working towards removing fallen trees from various areas. The strong winds brought in by Cyclone Remal uprooted many trees, which in turn blocked several roads.
With Cyclone Remal already weakening, rains are still expected to lash West Bengal and Bangladesh as the storm moves northwards. As the cyclonic storm moves northwards, northeastern states such as Assam have started to prepare for heavy rains and strong winds brought in by the storm.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected over Mizoram, Tripura and South Manipur today.
Due to Cyclone Remal, Kolkata Airport suspended all flights for 21 hours from Sunday onwards. All flights to and from Kolkata Airport will remain suspended till 9 AM of May 27.
Furthermore, Kolkata Port also suspended all cargo and container handling operations on Sunday evening till 6 AM today in view of the heavy rains and gusty winds.
However, with the cyclone now weakening, West Bengal is slowly re-opening its operations. Based on confirmation from Eastern Railways, the train services in the section resumed at 9 AM. As per AAI, Kolkata Airport also resumed operations today.
Speaking to PTI, a top official from AAI stated that the first plane to depart on Monday was IndiGo’s Kolkata-Port Blair flight at 8.59AM and the first plane to land in Kolkata was SpiceJet’s flight from Guwahati at 09.50 AM.
As per flightradar24, around 19 flights were delayed and 20 flights were cancelled at the Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. However, with operations back on, the flight scheduled are expected to be back on track soon.
Along with its trail of destruction, Cyclone Remal also caused few casualties across West Bengal and Bangladesh. In Bangaldesh, two deaths were reported by the country's disaster ministry after the cyclone made its landfall.
In West Bengal, a 51-year-old man reportedly died due to a wall collapse during the peak of the storm on Sunday. However, this death is yet to be confirmed by the West Bengal government.