Cyclone Remal: Flight operations suspended at Kolkata airport | News from Kolkata

In view of the impact of Cyclone Remal on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, flight operations will remain suspended from “26.05.2024, 12:00 IST, to 27.05.2024, 09:00 IST, due to forecast of strong winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” Kolkata airport authorities said on Saturday.

Red alert has been declared in north and south Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Howrah and Hooghly districts in West Bengal as the storm approaches on Sunday. Extremely heavy rainfall (over 204 mm in 24 hours) with gusty wind over these districts. The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rain and gusty wind over North Odisha and Bengal till early hours of Monday.

“Cyclone Remal is likely to move further northwards. It will intensify into a ‘severe’ cyclone by Sunday morning and will move over the northwest and adjoining northeast of the Bay of Bengal. It is expected to move over Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coast between Sagar Island and Khepupara as a severe cyclone by Sunday midnight. The expected wind speed is 110-120 kmph with gusts up to 135 kmph,” the IMD said on Saturday.

In Odisha, Mayurbhaj, Bhadrak, Kendujhar, Baleshwar, Jajpur, Kendraparha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Khorda and Puri districts are likely to experience heavy rainfall (64-104 mm in 24 hours) on Sunday. The Tripura government has also issued an alert for all 8 districts after the IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall, gusty wind and thunderstorms in the next 48 hours.

With contributions from Debraj Deb in Agartala and PTI