Cyclone Remal likely to make landfall in Bengal tonight, flight operations suspended | Indiablooms

New Delhi/IBNS: According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), severe cyclonic storm Remal is expected to make landfall between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh around midnight on Sunday.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.

The centre of Remal was located about 240 kilometres south-southeast of Sagar Island and 300 kilometres south-southwest of Khepupara, the IMD said in its latest update on Sunday.

The storm will intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” in the next six hours and will pass between Bangladesh and the adjacent Bengal coast around midnight, the Met Office said.

As a precautionary measure ahead of the cyclone, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata announced a suspension of flight operations for 21 hours from Sunday noon.

“In view of the impact of Cyclone Remal on the coastal region of West Bengal including Kolkata, a meeting was held with the stakeholders and it was decided to suspend flight operations from May 26, 12:00 IST to May 27, 09:00 IST due to forecast strong winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” NSCBI Airport Director C Pattabhi said in a statement.

The Port of Calcutta has announced that it will suspend all cargo and container handling operations for 12 hours from Sunday evening.

According to local media reports, the city experienced moderate rainfall and strong winds early in the morning.

The low pressure system first observed in the Bay of Bengal on May 22 has intensified into a stronger system which is now located in the centre of the Bay of Bengal.

Regions expected to be affected include West Bengal, coastal Bangladesh, Tripura and other parts of the northeastern states.

An orange alert also applies to the districts of Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia and Purba Medinipur.

The weather service has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea north of the Bay of Bengal until Monday morning.

The Met Office also warned of extremely heavy rainfall in northern Odisha on Sunday and Monday. Parts of northeast India may also experience extremely heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday.