'Heartbreaking' Damage Seen in Kolkata as Cyclone Amphan Hits India

Winds and rain battered the Kolkata area on May 20 as Cyclone Amphan approached, having made landfall during the afternoon as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” over the northwest Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

At least 10 people were killed by the storm across India’s West Bengal state, and approximately 500,000 people were evacuated from the area, reports said.

The IMD said that Amphan brought wind speeds of 155 to 165 km/h (96 to 103 mph), with wind gusts of up to 185 km/h (114 mph) as it moved over the West Bengal-Bangladesh coast.

This footage was taken in Kolkata by local resident Abhinav Sikhwal.

“We had glass actually on the balcony and fibre on the roof,” Sikhwal told Storyul. “The glass broke and disappeared and so did parts of the roof.”

“The damages have been heartbreaking,” he said. Credit: Abhinav Sikhwal via Storyful