NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Kolkata airport will suspend flight operations for 9 p.m. from midnight Sunday after a storm over the Bay of Bengal developed into a severe cyclonic storm, airport authorities said.
The cyclonic storm is expected to cross the coast of Bangladesh and India around midnight on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement.
Maximum winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) are expected to reach, with gusts of up to 135 km per hour (85 mph) hitting West Bengal’s Sagar Island and Bangladesh’s Khepupara region on Sunday evening, it said the Indian agency.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal ahead of this year’s monsoon season, which starts in June and ends in September.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected at most places in the coastal areas of West Bengal state. A storm surge of about 1 meter high is expected to inundate low-lying areas of coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Such storms can uproot trees and cause extensive damage to thatched houses and electricity and communications lines, the statement said.
India’s coasts are often hit by cyclones, but changing climate patterns have made them more intense, making preparations for natural disasters more urgent.
