Cyclone Fani : Storm Weakens Brings Relief For West Bengal

Picture : Twitter / ANI

People of West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as severe cyclonic storm Fani weakened on Saturday morning and was moving towards neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official of the regional meteorological centre said.

Kolkata witnessed wind speeds of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight, he said.

There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed, officials said.

“Fani is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours.

“It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and enter Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph,” Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre Sanjib Bandyopadhyay said.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am on Saturday.

“It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district…and is moving towards Murshidabad district,” Bandyopadhyay said.

A senior official said apart from a few mud houses collapsing and tress falling, there were no reports of casualties from any of the districts. “However, we are awaiting further details,” he added.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation