(G.N.S) Dt. 19
New Delhi
NDRF Director General SN Pradhan said that there are 24 teams in standby and every battalion that has been deployed has 4 teams.
Pradhan informed that 15 teams are deployed in Odisha currently. “They are carrying out awareness drives, communication drives, and evacuation. 19 teams are deployed in West Bengal, 2 in standby there.” he said.
NDRF chief added that the country is facing a dual challenge of Covid-19 and cyclone Amphan.
IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said Amphan is the most intense cyclone and the second super cyclone which has been formed in the Bay of Bengal after 1999.
“Its wind speed in the sea right now is 200-240 kilometre per hour (kmph). It is moving towards the north-northwestward direction,” Mohapatra said.
Mohapatra also said that, in West Bengal, the cyclone could affect districts like North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts. Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah and West Midnapore districts will face wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting up to 135 kmph, he added.
