High-speed winds and rain hit Kolkata and several other parts of West Bengal on Wednesday even as the state is still emerging from the destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan. The storm, locally known as “kalbaisakhi”, uprooted several trees and hindered the movement of traffic in several parts of the Kolkata.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the wind packed a speed of 96 kilometres per hour at 6.23 pm on Wednesday. The wind, accompanied by moderate rain, also passed over Purulia, West Midnapore, Birbhum, Howrah and Hooghly districts, the weather office added. One person died in a lightning strike at Durgapur in West Burdwan district during the storm.

The disaster response team rushed to Jatin Das street in South Kolkata as two huge trees crashed on parked cars, NDTV reported. At Telengabagan in North Kolkata, civic authorities had to move residents to a community hall amid the risk on an old tree falling on houses.

Cyclone Amphan, the strongest storm on record in the Bay of Bengal, ripped through West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh on May 20. The storm killed at least 86 people in West Bengal, destroyed thousands of homes, uprooted innumerable trees and led to power disruptions. The storm created monumental challenges for state governments amid their intensifying fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The cyclone first hit the Sundarbans – a vast mangrove forest forest – and caused immense damage to houses and farmlands.

West Bengal struggled to resume essential services after the cyclone. Flight operations at the Kolkata airport were also delayed, and resumed on May 28. The state government had also sought help from the Indian Army after protests over its response to the disaster. The Army on Saturday sent three columns of troops to assist the Kolkata City Civil Administration to help with restoration work. Two more were sent to North and South 24 Parganas districts.

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  2. ‘How much can we suffer?’: Bengal’s migrant workers reel from twin blows of lockdown and cyclone
  3. Cyclone Amphan is the latest reminder that India needs to upgrade its disaster management systems