Cyclone 'Amphan' may cause extensive damage on Bengal coast during landfall: Govt

Cyclone "Amphan" has developed into a super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal on Monday and has the potential to cause extensive damage in the coastal districts of West Bengal when it makes landfall on Wednesday, the government said.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast in the afternoon of May 20 as an extremely severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds ranging up to 195 kmph.

The cyclone has the potential to cause extensive damage in the coastal districts of West Bengal, an official statement said.

"Amphan" will cause heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal, it added.

The districts of East Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata in are likely to be worst affected due to "Amphan".

The storm is also likely to impact the coastal districts of north Odisha, including Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of a storm surge of a height of about four-six metres above the astronomical tide, which would inundate the low-lying coastal areas of South and North 24 parganas, and three-four metres in East Medinipur at the time of landfall, the statement said.