Tremendous Cyclonic Squall Amphan was a vigorous and lethal tropical typhoon that triggered pervasive destruction in Eastern India (West Bengal to be specific, and also Bangladesh) in May 2020. It was the sturdiest tropical cyclone to wallop the Ganges Delta since the 2007 season of Sidr and the first super cyclonic hurricane to occur in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. Amphan is also the most exorbitant cyclone ever documented in the North Indian Ocean, causing more than US$13 billion in havoc, surpassing the 2008 Cyclone Nargis record.
Amphan, the first tropical whirlwind in the 2020 North Indian Ocean hurricane season, formed on 13 May 2020 from a low-pressure system that lasted a few hundred miles (300 km) east of Colombo, Sri Lanka. On 15 May the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) exalted the system to a tropical depression while the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) followed suit the following day, tracing northeast, the disruption formed over unusually warm sea surface temperatures. Amphan underwent accelerated intensification on 17 May and within 12 hours, became an exceptionally intense cyclonic storm.
Amphan attained its peak intensity on 18 May at about 12:00 UTC with three-minute non-stop gale speeds of 240 km/h (150 mph), one-minute continuous wind speeds of 260 km/h (160 mph), and a minimum central barometric pressure of 925 bar (27.32 in Hg). Shortly after it reached its peak strength, the storm started an eyewall replacement period, but the continued effects of dry air and squall shear interrupted this process and forced Amphan to degrade steadily as it paralleled India’s eastern coastline. The cyclone made landfall in West Bengal on 20 May, between 10:00 and 11:00 UTC. At the moment, Amphan’s 1-minute constant winds were measured by the JTWC to be 155 km/h (100 mph). When inland, Amphan quickly debilitated and dissipated shortly afterward.
The Amphan was affected by wind gusting at a speed of 150-160 kilometers per hour to 185 kilometers per hour, uprooted 5000 trees, killed 9 lakh cattle and poultry, 4.5 lakh electric poles, destroyed 10 lakh homes, damaged dams along the Sundarbans Raimangal, Bidyadh, devastated 160 km, 0.5 lakh hectares of cropping land and 58,000 hectares of fisheries. The state officials claimed a loss of Rs 24,000 crore from the farm.
There are numerous ramifications on those wedged by the super cyclone, so many people are vagrant, and there is no drinking water or dry meals available. This has obliterated out so many foliage and electricity power poll. The official said it instigated the deaths of 96 people and the deaths of so many birds and animals. Many of them are homeless, and some of their cultivated land or fields are swamped. Approximately 6 lakh people are severely affected. Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, sees the gigantic Amphan and the troublesome power of nature. Immediate measures were taken by the government of West Bengal after the cyclone passed by. The rescue team process soon entered the site, 37 radio stations for the process were VHF HAM, and simultaneously the act of removing the road blockage was conducted. It is a memorable cyclonic hurricane, mega and bigger, that cannot be forgotten. Whereas “AMPHAN” reminds everyone that science is nothing when it comes to nature.
“Nature is a builder as well as a destroyer.”
