Bengal and Bangladesh brace for Cyclone Remal; Kolkata airport suspends flights

Kolkata airport will suspend flight operations for nine hours from midnight on Sunday (May 26) as West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh prepare for the landfall of Cyclone Remal.

The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has developed into a cyclone named Remal. It is expected to make landfall between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday evening with a speed of 110-120 kmph, the IMD said.

At the time of landfall, a storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is expected to inundate the low-lying coastal areas of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

This is the first cyclone over the Bay of Bengal this season and has been named “Remal” (Arabic for “sand”) according to a system for naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean.

Message from the IMD

The weather system was moving at a speed of 12 kmph over the east-central Bay of Bengal and was located 350 km south-southeast of Sagar Island in West Bengal at 5.30 pm on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The storm continues to move northwards and is likely to develop into a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday morning and cross West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh coast between Sagar Island and Khepupara by Sunday midnight with wind speed of 110-120 km/h and gusts of up to 135 km/h.

The IMD warned of extremely heavy rainfall in coastal districts of West Bengal and heavy to very heavy rainfall in North Odisha on May 26 and 27 due to the weather system.

Assam and Meghalaya are also expected to receive extremely heavy rainfall, and other northeastern states such as Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on May 27 and 28.

Measures at Kolkata Airport

The precautionary measure to suspend flights was taken after a meeting of stakeholders of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata on Saturday.

“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.

Fishermen warned

The IMD has issued a cyclone warning for the Bay of Bengal coast and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal till the morning of May 27.

In addition, a red alert has been issued for the coastal districts of South and North 24 Parganas in West Bengal as extremely heavy rains are expected at some places on May 26 and 27.

The IMD also issued an orange alert for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia and Purba Medinipur districts on May 26 and 27, warning of wind speeds of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph and heavy to very heavy rain at one or two places.

Odisha prepares

In North Odisha, the coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara will experience heavy rains on May 26 and 27, while Mayurbhanj is expected to experience heavy showers on May 27.

People living near the coast were advised to take preparations and stay in their homes until May 27. The IMD also warned of localized flooding and damage to power lines, crops and orchards on May 26 and 27.

Bangladesh prepares for impact

Bangladesh has prepared nearly 4,000 shelters with adequate supplies of dry food and water and is bracing for Cyclone Remal, which could make landfall in the coastal districts of Satkhira and Cox’s Bazar with a possible high storm surge and heavy rains, media reports said on Saturday.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) is expected to issue the High Danger Warning Level 10 between midnight and 1 a.m. on Sunday.

The state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted a special report as saying that the seaports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra had been instructed to raise local alert number three in view of the strong low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

Shelters available

Minister of State for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibur Rahman said at a press conference in Dhaka that nearly 4,000 shelters had been prepared in coastal districts and stocked with sufficient dry food.

“We have 80,000 volunteers ready to handle the situation and all necessary preparations have been made,” Rahman was quoted as saying by The Daily Star Newspaper.

The state minister also warned that parts of Satkhira and Cox’s Bazar could be severely affected by Remal. The mountainous regions of Chattogram could experience a flood wave of 2.1 to 3 meters, heavy rains and landslides, the news portal said.

(With agency contributions)