Over 1 lakh evacuated in Odisha as cyclone Amphan hurtles towards Bengal coast

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 20 : As many as 1,19,075 people have been evacuated from 13 vulnerable districts of Odisha as Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall on Wednesday between Digha in West Bengal and Hatia Island in Bangladesh.
Due to the cyclone, rainfall and strong winds are expected to batter several districts of Odisha today.
As many 1,704 shelter camps have been set up in anticipation of the super cyclone.
Maximum number of people were evacuated from Kendrapara, (32,060) followed by Bhadrak (26,174) and Balasore (23,142).
"As the storm approaches, the fear of the storm is growing in people's minds as time goes on. We are becoming more and more afraid of the wind. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that it will pass near Paradip by this afternoon. As a result, winds are expected in the northern coastal areas of Odisha, one of the locals told ANI.
"I stay at Bengali Sahi and have faced the 1999 Super Cyclone. When the administration announced that a similar cyclone is going to hit Odisha, we immediately fled from our shelter centres with our documents," said Panchanan Das, another local.
As per the latest update issued by the IMD, the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm lay centred over northwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal, about 125 km south of Paradip in Odisha, 390 km south-southwest of Digha and 540 km south-southwest of Khepupara in Bangladesh.