Cyclone Aila Misses Kolkata - Hits Coastal Orissa and West Bengal

Had Aila actually ripped through Calcutta in its full fury, the damage to life and property would have been far worse. The Great Calcutta Cyclone of 1864 — the last such recorded phenomenon — had killed 60,000 people.

Cyclonic storm Aila with a wind speed of 100 kmph was only 50 km away from Kolkata and was likely to hit the city any time soon, the met office said. There was yet no change in the course of the cyclone and there was likelihood that it would rip through Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and South and North 24 Parganas by 5.30 pm, Regional Meteorological Centre Director G C Debnath said. Noting that the storm had caused massive damage in North and South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly and Bardhaman districts, the minister said one lakh people were affected with 80,000 were shifted to safer places.

Coastal Orissa badly hit by cyclonic storm
BHUBANESWAR: Life was thrown out of gear in several parts of coastal Orissa due to heavy rains accompanied by high-velocity wind under the impact of a cyclonic storm, even as tidal waves lashed some areas.

As the cyclonic storm Aila lay centred at about 140 km east-south-east of Chandbali, a place located around 100 km north-east from here, incessant rains triggered by it submerged low-lying areas in coastal districts like Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore, official sources said.

Twelve people were killed on Monday and the Indian Army was asked to start rescue operations in the coastal South 24 Parganas district where extensive damage was feared as cyclone Aila crossed the coast into West Bengal.

All flights including domestic and international ones are being diverted to different routes since 2pm as low visibility at the runway is making it difficult for planes to land and take off, the official said.A total of seven domestic flights have either been sent back to their place of origin or have been diverted to other airports of Aizawl, New Delhi and Mumbai, the official said.International flights like those from Bangkok and Dhaka were also diverted.