New Delhi: As India prepares for the super cyclone Amphan which is scheduled to make landfall tomorrow, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of the eastern states, Odisha and West Bengal, and reviewed the preparedness of the states for the super cyclone. Shah spoke to both Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee regarding the situation of Amphan. He also assured them that the Central Government is ready to provide any support needed by them. Shah also informed Banerjee that teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the state and that the centre is committed to helping the state.


Amphan is very likely to weaken into an extremely severe cyclonic storm during next 6 hrs. It's very likely to move north northeastwards across northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal–Bangladesh coasts b/w Digha & Hatiya Islands close to Sundarbans during afternoon/evening of 20 May, said IMD.

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Earlier in the day it issued a fresh cyclone alert for both states as the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' was over the central parts of the South Bay of Bengal and adjoining the central Bay of Bengal. The Met Department has informed that the coastal districts of West Bengal will experience heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on May 19 and 20. Coastal districts of Odisha will also experience heavy to very heavy rainfall. IMD has also advised a complete shutdown of shipping and boating activities and rerouting or shutting down of rail and road traffic in areas where the cyclone will impact the most.

According to reports by IANS, the West Bengal government has also started evacuating people from the coastal areas to temporary cyclone centres for safety. Three coastal districts of East Midnapore, South 24-Parganas, and North 24-Parganas are expected to be severely affected by Amphan.