Visuals are from Sagar island and Digha


A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal intensified into severe cyclonic storm Remal and is expected to make landfall between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh by Sunday midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Remal, which means sand in Arabic, is the first pre-monsoon cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this season. The name was provided by Oman, following the regional naming system for cyclones in the north Indian Ocean.

According to the weather department, extremely heavy rainfall has been predicted in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26 and 27. Parts of northeast India may also witness extremely heavy rainfall due to the impact of Remal on May 27 and 28.

Some places in coastal West Bengal, including Sagar Islands, Namkhana and Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas witnessed cloudy skies this morning, while nearby places saw rain with light gusty winds as the cyclone approached the coast.

In its latest bulletin on Sunday morning, the IMD said Remal moved nearly northwards at a speed of 7 km per hour and lay centred about 260 km south-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), 310 km south of Mongla (Bangladesh), 240 km south-southeast of Sagar Islands (West Bengal) and 280 km south-southeast of Canning (West Bengal) as of 8:30 am today.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said nine disaster relief teams were kept on standby at Haldia and Fraserganj in West Bengal, and Paradip and Gopalpur in Odisha. It said all pre-emptive measures were taken to ensure there was no loss of life or property at sea.