Nine killed, 1 lakh affected as cyclone Aila hits Bengal

A severe cyclone Aila hit the city and five adjoining districts in West Bengal today, snuffing out nine lives and affecting about a lakh people besides paralysing normal life and disrupting flights.

Incessant rains accompanied by strong wind of 100-120 kmph hit the metropolis and all flights, including international ones, at the N S C Bose international airport were suspended from 1400 hrs, official sources said.

Trees were uprooted at several places here leading to severe dislocation of traffic as trams stopped running with power to overhead wires being switched off.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said he had alerted the army, while BSF and police have begun rescue operations in Sunderbans in coastal South 24 Parganas district where hundreds of thatched houses had collapsed.

The army was moving into Sandeshkhali and Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas and at Sagardwip, Gosaba and Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas. "If necessary, we will talk to the Centre," Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said.

Of the dead, five were from the metropolis, while four others were from South 24-Parganas district, he said.

The storm, with wind speed reaching up to 100 km, was moving in a westerly direction and would later take a northerly turn affecting Howrah, Hooghly and Bardhaman districts, Dasgupta told newsmen.