CNewws KOLKATA: Strong winds and heavy rains from Cyclone Aila lashed eastern India and Bangladesh on Monday, killing at least 15 people and stranding Palm trees are whipped below a menacing skyline during a cyclonic storm in Kolkata.
By the evening, however, the storm had gradually begun to weaken, G.C. Debnath, an official at the local meteorological office said.
Five people were killed in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, where trees were uprooted, tram services stopped and schools closed early, according to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya. Five others were killed in neighbouring districts, Bhattacharjee said.
B K Bandhopadhyaya, an official at the Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi said that the cyclone had generated winds of about 70 miles (110 kilometres) per hour.
Several rivers burst their banks inside the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, home to thousands of people and one the world's largest wild tiger populations, Khalil Ahmed, the area's district magistrate said. Thousands of residents were evacuated to safer areas.
It is believed about 250 tigers live on the Indian side of the Sundarbans, a tangle of mangrove forests, and another 250 on the Bangladeshi side.
Mrinal Chatterjee, the project director of the Institute of Nature Lovers and Climbers, an environmental group that works in the Sundarbans, said it was difficult to assess the damage to the tiger habitat because the water levels were too high for ecologists and forest officials to venture into the area.
He added that fresh water sources in the mangrove forests were already likely inundated with sea water.
The storm also caused high waves to hit low-lying coastal areas in neighboring Bangladesh, said Farah Diba, an official at the Meteorological Office in the capital Dhaka.
At least five people were killed in the flooding that followed, the United News of Bangladesh news agency said.
About 15,000 people were stranded in eight flooded villages as 6 feet (1.8 meter) high waves crashed into the area, the news agency said.
Tidal surges breached flood-protection embankments in coastal areas about 85 miles (135 kilometers) southwest of Dhaka.
The Indian Meteorological Department advised people in affected areas to stay indoors. The cyclone was expected to cause extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and ``minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large trees.''
Coastal Orissa badly hit by cyclonic storm
BHUBANESWAR: Life was thrown out of gear in several parts of coastal Orissa due to heavy rains accompanied by high-velocity wind under the impact of a cyclonic storm, even as tidal waves lashed some areas.
As the cyclonic storm Aila lay centred at about 140 km east-south-east of Chandbali, a place located around 100 km north-east from here, incessant rains triggered by it submerged low-lying areas in coastal districts like Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore, official sources said.
High velocity gale with speed as high as 80-90 kmph uprooted a large number of trees in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Cuttack districts, blocking several roads and disrupting vehicular movement, they said, adding that no loss of life was reported so far.
Life was paralysed in Satabhaya and Kanhupur villages in Kendrapara district, perenially prone to sea erosion, after tidal waves lashed into human settlements since yesterday, forcing residents to shift to higher grounds and safer places.
People of Kanhupur village have taken shelter in a local panchayat building while some of them moved to a nearby village, sources said.
About 1,000 hectares of farm land was salinised with tidal waves spilling over Atharbanki, Gabajidiha, Jagatjori, they said and added that similar ingress of sea waters was reported in parts of Chakada, Gohua and Tantiapala villages.
By the evening, however, the storm had gradually begun to weaken, G.C. Debnath, an official at the local meteorological office said.
Five people were killed in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, where trees were uprooted, tram services stopped and schools closed early, according to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya. Five others were killed in neighbouring districts, Bhattacharjee said.
B K Bandhopadhyaya, an official at the Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi said that the cyclone had generated winds of about 70 miles (110 kilometres) per hour.
Several rivers burst their banks inside the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, home to thousands of people and one the world's largest wild tiger populations, Khalil Ahmed, the area's district magistrate said. Thousands of residents were evacuated to safer areas.
It is believed about 250 tigers live on the Indian side of the Sundarbans, a tangle of mangrove forests, and another 250 on the Bangladeshi side.
Mrinal Chatterjee, the project director of the Institute of Nature Lovers and Climbers, an environmental group that works in the Sundarbans, said it was difficult to assess the damage to the tiger habitat because the water levels were too high for ecologists and forest officials to venture into the area.
He added that fresh water sources in the mangrove forests were already likely inundated with sea water.
The storm also caused high waves to hit low-lying coastal areas in neighboring Bangladesh, said Farah Diba, an official at the Meteorological Office in the capital Dhaka.
At least five people were killed in the flooding that followed, the United News of Bangladesh news agency said.
About 15,000 people were stranded in eight flooded villages as 6 feet (1.8 meter) high waves crashed into the area, the news agency said.
Tidal surges breached flood-protection embankments in coastal areas about 85 miles (135 kilometers) southwest of Dhaka.
The Indian Meteorological Department advised people in affected areas to stay indoors. The cyclone was expected to cause extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and ``minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large trees.''
Coastal Orissa badly hit by cyclonic storm
BHUBANESWAR: Life was thrown out of gear in several parts of coastal Orissa due to heavy rains accompanied by high-velocity wind under the impact of a cyclonic storm, even as tidal waves lashed some areas.
As the cyclonic storm Aila lay centred at about 140 km east-south-east of Chandbali, a place located around 100 km north-east from here, incessant rains triggered by it submerged low-lying areas in coastal districts like Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore, official sources said.
High velocity gale with speed as high as 80-90 kmph uprooted a large number of trees in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Cuttack districts, blocking several roads and disrupting vehicular movement, they said, adding that no loss of life was reported so far.
Life was paralysed in Satabhaya and Kanhupur villages in Kendrapara district, perenially prone to sea erosion, after tidal waves lashed into human settlements since yesterday, forcing residents to shift to higher grounds and safer places.
People of Kanhupur village have taken shelter in a local panchayat building while some of them moved to a nearby village, sources said.
About 1,000 hectares of farm land was salinised with tidal waves spilling over Atharbanki, Gabajidiha, Jagatjori, they said and added that similar ingress of sea waters was reported in parts of Chakada, Gohua and Tantiapala villages.
