page_title: Cyclone Amphan
section_title: Eastern India
hierarchical_section_title: Cyclone Amphan / Impact / India / Eastern India
caption_attribution_description: English: Situation of kolkata after Amphan Cyclone.
context_page_description: Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was a powerful and deadly tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically West Bengal, and also Bangladesh in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Ganges Delta since Sidr of the 2007 season and the first super cyclonic storm to have formed in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. It was also the third super cyclone that hit West Bengal since 1582, after 1737 and 1833, as well as being the strongest storm to impact the area. Causing over US$13 billion of damage, Amphan is also the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, surpassing the record held by Cyclone Nargis of 2008.
  The first tropical cyclone of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Amphan originated from a low-pressure area persisting a couple hundred miles east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 13 May 2020. Tracking northeastward, the disturbance organized over exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures; the Joint Typhoon Warning Center upgraded the system to a tropical depression on 15 May while the Indian Meteorological Department followed suit the following day.
context_section_description: Amphan made landfall near Bakkhali in West Bengal at 2:30 p.m. IST on 20 May, buffeting the region with strong winds and heavy rains. Although the extent of fatalities was less than initially feared, the cyclone's effects were nonetheless widespread and deadly. West Bengal, the epicenter of the cyclone's landfall, saw the most widespread damage from Amphan. The storm was considered the strongest to hit the region in over a decade. At least 86 people died in West Bengal; most of the fatalities were due to electrocution or the collapse of homes. The state government estimated that the storm caused at least ₹1 trillion (US$13.2 billion) in damage and directly affected 70 percent of the state's population. Chief Minister Banerjee described the storm's effects there as worse than that of COVID-19. An estimated storm surge of 5 m (16 ft) inundated a wide swath of coastal communities and communications were severed. The greatest inundations were expected in the Sundarbans, where flooding could extend 15 km (9.3 mi) inland. Embankments in the region were overtaken by the surge, leading to inundation of the islands in the Sundarbans. Bridges linking islands to the Indian mainland were swept away. The cyclone produced sustained winds of 112 km/h (70 mph) and gusts to 190 km/h (120 mph), which were recorded by the Alipore observatory, Kolkata, West Bengal, damaging homes and uprooting trees and electric poles. Wind speed along coastal areas were measured up to 150–160 km/h (93–99 mph). In Canning a wind speed of 157 km/h (98 mph) with gusting up to 185 km/h (115 mph) was recorded, while nearby nimpith and Sagar Island observed 155 km/h (96 mph) and 111 km/h (69 mph) wind speed.  TheNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport recorded wind speeds up to 133 km/h (83 mph) .This overturned vehicles and snapped approximately 10,000 trees. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation stated that Amphan toppled over 4,000 electric poles, leaving much of the city without power for over 14 hours. At least 19 people were killed in Kolkata. The storm also triggered widespread flooding around the city. 236 mm of rain was recorded in Kolkata. 
  Downed power lines caused power outages across West Bengal, prompting CM Banerjee to order power supplies to be cut in the two states of 24 Parganas as a precautionary measure. In North 24 Parganas, 2 people were killed and up to 5,500 homes were damaged. Thousands of mud homes were damaged in the neighboring Hooghly district. A million homes were damaged in South 24 Parganas and breached embankments led to the flooding of villages and swaths of cropland. About 26,000 homes were destroyed in Gosaba. Saltwater inundation affected surrounding areas following damage to 19 km (12 mi) of nearby embankments.Around 150 km from the area in Nadia,the storm caused severe damage. Across West Bengal, 88,000 hectares (217,000 acres) of rice paddies and 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of vegetable and sesame crops were damaged.
  Neighboring Odisha saw significant effects, with wind speed reaching 106 km/h (66 mph) and rainfall up to 300 mm (12 in) in Paradip. In Bhadrak, rainfall reached 384.6 mm (15.14 in). Approximately 1,167 km (725 mi) of power lines of varying voltages, 126,540 transformers, and 448 electrical substations were affected, leaving 3.4 million without power. Damage to the power grid reached ₹3.2 billion (US$42 million). Four people died in Odisha, two from collapsed objects, one due to drowning, and one from head trauma. Across the ten affected districts in Odisha, 4.4 million people were impacted in some way by the cyclone. At least 500 homes were destroyed and a further 15,000 were damaged. Nearly 4,000 livestock, primarily poultry, died. The Cyclone was strongest at its northeast section.
caption: Damage from Cyclone Amphan in Kolkata
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