Met Dept Issues High Alert for Bengal Coast as cyclone Remal to hit within hours

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday announced that the severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ has intensified and the landfall is expected to commence within the next two to three hours.

The cyclone is expected to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh by midnight, the IMD body said.

Remal, meaning “sand” in Arabic, is the first pre-monsoon cyclone of the season in the Bay of Bengal.

The name was provided by Oman, by the regional naming system for cyclones in the north Indian Ocean.

The IMD has predicted extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26 and 27.

Additionally, parts of northeast India are expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall due to cyclone’s impact on May 27 and 28.

As the cyclone approaches, some areas in coastal West Bengal, including Sagar Islands, Namkhana, and Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas, experienced cloudy skies this morning, while nearby regions saw rain with light gusty winds.