Cyclone Remal: 2 dead, widespread rainfall, airport operations resume in Bengal

Even as the impact of Cyclone Remal’s landfall started subsiding, parts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, continued to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall today. 

A 50-year old man and an 80-year-old woman have reportedly lost their lives, and the normal life in the state has been disrupted by rains.

On the basis of predictions, a Red Alert continued to be in vogue in two adjacent districts in South Bengal - Nadia and Murshidabad. The weather office has also predicted the wind speed to be high in these two districts.

Similarly, Orange Alert continued in eight districts -- Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, Birbhum, Howrah, and Hooghly. There are predictions of heavy rainfall in these districts.

All these districts are located in South Bengal.

Airport services resume, metro disrupted

In Kolkata, scattered rainfall was witnessed since this morning, and the wind speed was more or less normal.

With train services in the South Division of Sealdah and flight services at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport having resumed after being suspended for a long time, city life started springing back to normalcy.

However, train service was disrupted at Kolkata Metro this morning following waterlogging at the tracks in certain places.

Optimistic forecast

However, at the same time, the weather office has given some good news about the further weakening of Remal, which has already lost much of its strength and has converted into a cyclonic storm in the latter part of the day.

The more it weakens in the day, the more the weather conditions in the state will improve accordingly but gradually. As per forecasts, the possibility of heavy rainfall since the morning of May 28 is minimal.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)