The biggest cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal in about two decades may likely weaken as it hits coasts of India and Bangladesh late on Wednesday, with authorities making preparations to evacuate more than 5 million people to safer places.Cyclone Amphan, the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, is expected to attain a sustained wind speed of 225 to 235 kilometers (140-146 miles) per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department. The speed may rise to about 255 kilometers per hour, before the cyclone slightly weakens later on Tuesday, the weather office said.
The storm is set to cause further miseries to India and Bangladesh, which are witnessing a slump in economic activities, like many other countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian economy is headed for its first full-year contraction in more than four decades, while Fitch Solutions in April lowered Bangladesh’s GDP growth forecast.
It is forecast to be the worst storm over the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 super cyclone that hit the eastern Indian state of Odisha, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the weather office, said late on Monday. The super cyclone had killed about 10,000 people in the state.