Cyclone Amphan To Hit Bengal Today, Strong Winds, Rain Near Coast Latest

Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years, is likely to hit Bengal tonight between 4 and 6 p.m. Amphan weakened from a super cyclone to an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" on Tuesday, causing strong winds and heavy rains in parts of Odisha and Bengal as it moved toward the Indian coast. 

This afternoon, the storm lay centered over the northwest of the Bay of Bengal, just 95 km from the Digha city of West Bengal. Authorities anticipate massive destruction when the cyclone strikes. The storm is expected to accumulate winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour as it crosses the Bangladesh island of Digha and Hatiya in West Bengal, where around 20 million have been moved to more than 12,000 shelters. 

It is only the second "super cyclone" to form in the northeast Indian Ocean since records began. The Indian Navy is on "high alert" on the east coast for relief efforts, an official statement said.

From NDTV News