Skip to main content

Cyclone: Amphan

Image

A Cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale. Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale.

    

  Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation. Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of the development of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity and are warm core. Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases. There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis:

   # sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures,

   # atmospheric instability,

  # high humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere,

  # enough Coriolis force to develop a low-pressure center,

  # a preexisting low-level focus or disturbance,

  # low vertical wind shear.

       Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.


Cyclone Amphan :

      Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was a very powerful and deadly tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage over East India and Bangladesh in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Ganges Delta, and the first super cyclonic storm to occur in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. Causing over US$13 billion of damage, Amphan is also the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, surpassing the record held by Cyclone Nargis of 2008.

       Amphan originated from a low-pressure area persisting a couple hundred miles (300 km) east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 13 May 2020. Tracking northeastward, the disturbance organized over exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures; the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) upgraded the system to a tropical depression on 15 May while the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) followed suit the following day. On 17 May, Amphan underwent rapid intensification and became an extremely severe cyclonic storm within 12 hours.

       Coastal areas in Odisha—as well as Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, East Midnapur, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal—were affected by the cyclone. It also caused significant destruction in Bangladesh.


Impact-

           West Bengal, the epicenter of the cyclone's landfall, saw the most widespread damage from Amphan. The storm was considered the strongest to hit the region in over a decade.


Economic Impacts:

            This section analyzed the economic impacts of the affected households in the aftermath of the cyclone Amphan. A comparison was made between migrant and non-migrant households with regard to their economic conditions in terms of impacts on occupation, income, and loan status.

          In Kolkata, damaging winds up to 133 km/h (83 mph) overturned vehicles and snapped trees.  North 24 Parganas has also faced damage of several thousands of houses. Thousands of mud homes were damaged in the neighboring Hooghly district. At least 80 people died in West Bengal, of which 19 in Kolkata;  most of the fatalities were due to electrocution or the collapse of homes. Hundreds of homes were wrecked in South 24 Parganas and breached embankments led to the flooding of villages and swaths of cropland. The damage there was more extensive than in Cyclone Aila in 2009. Across West Bengal, 88,000 hectares (217,000 acres) of rice paddies and 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of vegetable and sesame crops have been damaged. Kolkata alone has lost 5000 trees in the cyclone. The government estimated the losses across the state to be ₹1 trillion (US$13.2 billion).

      Neighboring Odisha saw significant effects, with wind gusts reaching 106 km/h (66 mph) and rainfall up to 197.1 mm (7.76 in) in Paradip. 65 electrical substations were affected, leaving 1.9 million without power. Three people died in Odisha, one due to drowning, and the other two from collapsed objects.


Social Impacts:

         This section discussed the social impacts of Cyclone Aila on the migrant and non-migrant households with regard to their housing condition, water and sanitation issues, food consumption pattern, farmland holding, and source of fuel based on the findings from the field survey.

         As West Bengal and Odisha is an agriculture-based state, it is evident that around 36% of households were engaged in agriculture including forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries. People living in coastal areas are mostly small and marginal farmers who mostly relied on rain-fed agriculture. Climatic events affect the productivity of agricultural land; thus, smallholders, marginal farmers are affected more.

         The loss and damage as a result of the cyclone Amphan were so severe that the government, national and international donor agencies provided cash grants and other types of humanitarian support to affected communities to assist them in the recovery process. However, relief efforts were not adequate to recover from their losses, so vulnerable households had to borrow from formal and informal institutions.


Migration:

The factors that induced migration after the cyclone was also analyzed. Using the logistic regression model, the results show that factors like households who were functionally landless; more interested in migration. The analysis depicted that the type of house was also positively correlated with migration. Households who belong to better housing (semi-pacca or pacca) infrastructure were more likely to migrate.


        On 22 May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey over Kolkata, along with chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Modi announced an ₹10 billion (US$132 million) immediate relief for West Bengal and an ₹5 billion (US$66.2 million) relief for Odisha. In advance, Modi announced that ₹200,000 (US$2,650) would be provided to the next of kin of people who died during the storm, and ₹50,000 (US$660) would be given to each injured person.

By
Location: Uttar Pradesh, India Uttar Pradesh, India

Comments

Post a Comment

If you have any doubts please let me know.

Popular posts from this blog

URBANIZATION: Causes and Effect of Urbanization in india, Major Problems of Urbanisation in India and their Solutions

By
Urbanization is a process whereby populations move from rural to urban areas, enabling cities and towns to grow. It can also be termed as a progressive increase in the number of people living in towns and cities.  In the present global atmosphere, all nations undergo the challenges of the environment, social, transportation, Economy in their respective cities. These issues commonly occurred in developing countries due to the difference in development in cities and villages. Most countries focus on the development of cities instead of rural areas. Consequently, the urban areas are equipped with infrastructure, public facilities as well as provide employment opportunities compared to the rural areas. Therefore inhabitants are more attracted to migrate in cities to avail hi-tech facilities, enhance their lifestyles, and ultimately these activities raise numerous urbanization issues. The promise of jobs and prosperity, among other factors, pulls people to cities. Normally, urbaniza
Post a Comment
Read more

Anthropology: Meaning, Scope and Development of Anthropology, Types of Anthropology

By
Anthropology is the scientific study of humans, human behavior, and societies in the past and present. The word “anthropology” has been derived from two Greek words, Anthropos (man) and Logus (study or science) . Anthropology is, thus, the science of man. Anthropology may be called “the science of man and his works and behavior” . Anthropology means a study of all aspects of humankind at all levels of developments in any and every part of the world, both past and the present”. It aims to understand what is universal, general, and specific to the biological, cultural, and social aspects of humankind. Anthropology concerns us primarily with our own lives. It is no longer a vague study or a study without a portfolio. It is a well-defined science that tells us about the various aspects of the life of man, which is both physical and cultural, from the time of his origin till the present day. It embraces a vast field of study which views man from different angles. Anthropology is probably t
Post a Comment
Read more

SECULARISM, What are the advantages and disadvantages of India as a secular country?

By
SECULARISM, the term first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1851. Holyoake invented the term secularism to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion, without actively criticizing religious belief. Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman philosophers such as Zeno of Citium and Marcus Aurelius . A major impact on the idea of state religious liberty came from the writings of John Locke who, in his A Letter Concerning Toleration, argued in favor of religious toleration. He argued that the government must treat all citizens and all religions equally and that it can restrict actions, but not the religious intent behind them. With the 42'nd Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976, the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a secular nation . Officially, secularism has always inspired modern India. In practice, unlike Western nations of secularism, India's secularism does not s
Post a Comment
Read more

Land Reforms in India after Independence: History and Status

By
Land reform usually refers to the redistribution of land from the rich to the poor . More broadly, it includes regulation of ownership, operation, leasing, sales, and inheritance of land. The land is precious for any country and used by people for productivity and as a source of food, for a place to live, for wood, for a place to work. Not surprisingly, it received top priority on the policy agenda at the time of Independence. In the decades following independence, India passed a significant body of land reform legislation.  At the time of independence ownership of land was concentrated in the hands of a few. This led to the exploitation of the farmers and was a major barrier towards the socio-economic development of the rural population. Equal distribution of land was therefore an area of focus of Independent India's government. Laws for the land ceiling were enacted in various states during the 50s & 60s which were modified on the directives of the central government in 19
Post a Comment
Read more

The Structure & Nature of traditional Indian Social System | Varnashram, Purushartha, Karma, Rina | Features

By
Since ancient times, the social structure of traditional Indian society has been based mainly on the hereditary principle. The members were divided into hereditary caste groups, each caste with its traditional occupation. The actions of any individual in ancient Indian society were inherently structured on a normative, teleological socio-cultural group pattern. The normative structure consisted of Purushartha-Dharm, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. A person in this scheme of life was expected to behave in a pattern laid out for a religious sect and caste and achieve the goal of self-realization. This ideology of Indian society was followed in the ancient period through a synthesis of the system described in the Gita, the Smritis, and Arthasastra. This was, in fact, the model of Sanatan Dharm, the eternal religion. Social Structure of Indian Society: Social structure denotes the network of social relationships. The social relationship is created among the individuals when they interact with eac
Post a Comment
Read more