Online
\nNEW DEHLI
\nIndia and Bangladesh are evacuating millions of people from coastal areas ahead of a super cyclone which is approaching from the Bay of Bengal.
\nCyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall in an area near the border of the two countries later on Wednesday.
\nMore than 20 relief teams have already been deployed, and several more are on standby, Indian officials say.
\nThe coronavirus outbreak is making it harder for officials in both countries to evacuate people in these regions.
\nAmphan is expected to hit the coast with winds gusting up to 185km\/h (115mph), forecasters say.
\nOfficials in Bangladesh fear it will be the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr killed about 3,500 people in 2007. Most died as a result of sea water surging in.
\nWhile the storm\u2019s current wind speed is likely to reduce slightly before it makes landfall, India\u2019s weather department is predicting the surge of water caused could be as high as 10-16 feet (more than 3-5 metres).
\nThe cyclone comes as ten of thousands of migrant workers flee cities for their villages during India\u2019s lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
\nWest Bengal and Orissa (Odisha) are among the Indian states that are seeing a larger number of them return.
\nOrissa has now cancelled trains which were due to arrive with thousands of migrants between 18 and 20 May.
\nAnd some district officials have barred entry into their areas and requested the state government to accommodate the migrants – many of whom are walking home – elsewhere until the storm passes.
\nThe evacuation is expected to continue into Wednesday morning. Bangladesh\u2019s disaster management minister has told the BBC that they plan to evacuate about two million people to safety.
\nExtra shelters have been prepared to allow for social distancing. Masks are also being distributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online NEW DEHLI India and Bangladesh are evacuating millions of people from coastal areas ahead of a super cyclone which is approaching from the Bay of Bengal. Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall in an area near the border of the two countries later on Wednesday. More than 20 relief teams have already been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n