Cyclone Amphan: Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as India and Bangladesh brace for strongest storm ever recorded in Bay of Bengal

Indian official warns capacity in cyclone shelters has been reduced by social distancing rules

India and Bangladesh are preparing to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas as they brace for the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal to make landfall this week.

Officials began evacuating villagers and halted port operations on Monday ahead of the super cyclone, which is expected to arrive on Wednesday and has increased pressure on emergency services already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Cyclone Amphan became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night, with sustained wind speeds of up to 270km per hour (165mph), according to data from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

Although the storm has weakened slightly since then, it was still recording wind speeds up to 240kph (150mph) on Tuesday.

It comes as India eases its Covid-19 lockdown, imposed in April to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected 96,169 people and killed 3,029.

Up to 300,000 people in coastal areas of the states of West Bengal and Odisha are thought to be in immediate danger from the storm and may need to be evacuated, Indian officials said.

Satya Narayan Pradhan, director-general of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDSR), warned capacity in cyclone shelters had been significantly reduced due to social distancing rules.

He said there was normally room for 500,000 evacuees in the shelters, but this number had been cut down to 200,000 to allow for space between people.

“We have to evacuate people from low-lying areas, and protect them from the coronavirus too,” a senior official from India’s home ministry told Reuters under condition of anonymity.

“It’s not an easy task.”

Rinkesh Roy, chairman of the Paradip Port Trust, said operations at the port of Paradip in Odisha were being wound down and officials were clearing the port ahead of the storm after authorities ordered ships to move out to sea to avoid damage.

On Monday, Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, chaired a meeting to review the response measures and the evacuation plan for Cyclone Amphan.

“I pray for everyone’s safety and assure all possible support from the Central Government,” Mr Modi wrote on Twitter after the meeting.

The storm is the second super cyclone on record which has formed over the Bay of Bengal, according to India’s meteorological chief, following a devastating 1999 storm in Odisha state which left nearly 10,000 people dead.

In Bangladesh, Enamur Rahman, the disaster management junior minister, said officials were planning to move about two million people from coastal areas into cyclone shelters to protect them from the storm.

The cyclone season in India and Bangladesh usually runs from April to December, with severe storms forcing tens of thousands to evacuate and causing widespread death and damage to crops and property.

India, with a coastline of 7,516km (4,670 miles), gets hit by more than a tenth of all the world’s tropical cyclones, with the bulk of them hitting its eastern coast around the Bay of Bengal.

Additional reporting by Reuters