Cyclone Amphan assaulted India-Bangladesh borders on Wednesday, causing floods and landfalls in the area. According to NASA, the first tropical cyclone in 2020 in the North Indian basin was the first super cyclone to form in Bay of Bengal since 1999.
The cyclone began hitting the Sundarbans, an area around the India-Bangladesh border, before moving to Kolkata. Parts of West Bengal and Odisha, Indian states, and areas in southwest Bangladesh, suffered from the worst blow.
So far, the cyclone has caused 84 fatalities. They are 72 in India and 12 in Bangladesh respectively. Cyclone Amphan also disrupted electricity and mobile phone networks in India and Bangladesh.
Residents described the catastrophe as something similar to earthquake. While the calamity hit the cities, trees were uprooted, power supplies were snapped, and areas were submerged.
The recent update reports that the damage currently lowers as the cyclone is moving towards Bhutan. Despite everything, the cyclone was still considerably very severe.
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Amphan Worsens COVID-19 Response in India and Bangladesh
Upon hitting India and Bangladesh, Cyclone Amphan made it clear that any natural disaster would not wait while countries are busy dealing with COVID-19. For that reason, countries should always prepare to deal with natural disasters at any time.
Considering these recent phenomena, a disaster plan and pandemic response are something that should not be exclusive. A group of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology explained that pandemic and disaster preparedness, as well as climate change action should be a primary focus of the government at this minute.
Apart from its death tolls, the calamity also worsened the financial burdens India and Bangladesh are currently having in time of coronavirus pandemic. Among them, the government should allocate funds to repair infrastructure and assist the casualties.
Accordingly, Cyclone Amphan has utterly and partly destroyed approximately 5,500 buildings. The disaster also damaged public facilities such as of Kolkata airport.
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