Amphan unloads pounding winds and torrential rain across Bangladesh, India as storm makes landfall

Despite undergoing additional weakening, Cyclone Amphan remained an extremely dangerous storm as it made landfall over northeastern India and Bangladesh Wednesday afternoon as the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.

Amphan, now classified by India's Meteorological Department (IMD) as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, was packing maximum sustained winds around 155-165 km/h (96-102 mph) and gusts to 185 km/h (114 mph) as it roared ashore.

According to the IMD, Cyclone Amphan made landfall between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., local time. Landfall occurred along the shore of West Bengal, India, near the Sunderbans.

Amphan will threaten the head of the Bay of Bengal region with torrential rain, widespread damaging winds and extreme storm surge as the storm continues to move inland. Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, will take a direct hit from the storm.

According to AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls, Kolkata has reported winds a high as 112 km/h (70 mph) and 67.4 mm (2.65 inches) of rain as of Wednesday evening, local time.

Nicholls added that Paradip in Odisha, which began feeling the effects of the outer rainbands of Amphan on Tuesday, has reported 88.9 mm (3.50 inches) of rain so far.

Widespread power outages have been reported across Kolkata as the city is battered by Cyclone Amphan. Videos have emerged showing sparks flying from power lines and total darkness in some parts of the city.

Authorities in both India and Bangladesh were in the process of evacuating millions from low-lying coastal areas earlier this week, according to The Associated Press. The evacuations come as both nations try to follow social distancing measures in place for the COVID-19 crisis.

India, home to over 1.3 billion, has been under a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic since late March. The country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, chaired a "high-level" meeting on Monday to coordinate response strategy and review evacuation plans. The country's National Disaster Response Force has deployed over 20 teams on the group to help with preparedness ahead of the cyclone's arrival, while another 12 remain in reserve.

"I pray for everyone's safety and assure all possible support from the Central Government," Modi said on Twitter.

After another meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee on Tuesday, more National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed. Rescue and relief teams from the Army and Navy are also on standby, according to Asian News International.

After meandering over the Bay of Bengal for over a week, an area of low pressure developed into a tropical depression on Saturday and was given the name Amphan.

Conditions conducive for tropical development, including light wind shear and warm ocean waters, allowed Amphan to quickly climb the India Meteorological Department's tropical cyclone scale into the beginning of the week.

The storm reached super cyclonic storm status on Monday night, local time, the highest rating for tropical cyclones on the country's tropical cyclone scale.

By Monday evening, local time, Amphan became a super cyclonic storm with sustained wind speeds of 220 km/h (137 mph). According to Nicholls, Amphan is the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha Cyclone. That cyclone in 1999 produced winds up to 260 km/h (160 mph).

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Damaging winds are likely across West Bengal and Bangladesh with gusts of 110-160 km/h (70-100 mph) expected during the middle of the week. As Amphan approaches the coast, an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust of 225 km/h (140 mph) is possible near and to the east of the center of the storm.

This satellite image shows Amphan closing in on India and Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon local time. (Photo/RAMMB)

"Due to the widespread low elevation across southern Bangladesh and southern West Bengal, coastal flooding will be a major concern as winds push water from the Bay of Bengal onshore," stated AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty.

Areas along and just inland from the coast could be inundated with 3-6 meters (10-20 feet) of water.

Previous storms that have followed a similar path have led to thousands of deaths in the past, including the 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone which led to more than 138,866 fatalities and is the fifth deadliest tropical cyclone in world history.

Amphan will quickly lose wind speed as it moves inland on Thursday, but the threat of flooding rainfall will continue through the end of the week.

This cyclone will carry plenty of moisture with it, and rainfall totals of 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) are likely from eastern Odisha to West Bengal, Bihar and Bangladesh from Tuesday night into Thursday.

"An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 500 mm (20 inches) is likely in the upslope areas of the Himalayan foothills," said Nicholls.

Significant flooding is expected across northeastern India, Bhutan and northern Bangladesh, and mudslides are likely in the eastern Himalayans and the Garo-Khasi mountains, warned Douty.

Due to the strength of the cyclone, the potential for extreme damage and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, meteorologists have designated Amphan a 4 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones.

There are over 106,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India, while Bangladesh has reported more than 26,700, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

On Monday, preparations began as India started evacuating thousands of villagers and halted port operations, Reuters reported.

Pratap Jena, a government official in the eastern state of Odisha, announced that thousands of cyclone centers are prepared to house evacuated residents. There will also be tankers and generators on standby to provide drinking water to urban and rural areas.

"Panchayat Raj & Drinking Water and Housing & Urban departments are fully geared up to face the impending cyclone. We had a review meeting today on how supply of drinking water can be ensured in all panchayats and urban areas in the event of disruption of power supply due to cyclone," Jena said on Monday, according to local media.

More than 550 cyclone shelters have been prepared, along with another 7,000 concrete buildings identified as being usable to house displaced residents The Guardian reported.

Amphan adds additional pressure on emergency managers dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in India. The country recently extended the world's largest lockdown for another two weeks, according to the BBC. However, some restrictions have been eased.

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