21 killed, over a lakh hit as cyclone Aila strikes India

[ViruRulez]

At least 21 persons were killed and more than one lakh people hit as a cyclone spawned by a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal pounded large parts of West Bengal and coastal Orissa today leaving a trail of devastation and crippling normal life in the two states. However, the good news from the Met department is that cyclone Aila has started gradually weakening. In neighbouring Bangladesh which is in the path of the cyclone, thousands of people were shifted to makeshift emergency shelters along the southwestern coastlines which were lashed by tidal surges damaging nearly a dozen of flood control structures like dams, marooning thousands others. The highest number of 14 deaths in West Bengal was reported from South 24 Parganas district, followed by five in Kolkata and one each in Bankura and Howrah districts "The cyclone, now lying stationery 50 km west of Kolkata, hit West Bengal coast at 1:30 pm near Sagar Island. It is moving in a northerly direction and will weaken gradually, Regional Meteorological Centre Director G C Debnath, told PTI tonight. "Rains, however, will continue throughout tomorrow," he said. A severe storm with a windspeed of 110 kmph, accompanied by heavy rainfall, preceded the cyclone ripping through Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan and East Midnapore districts at 110 kmph. Unofficial reports, however, put the toll at 26 and the number of affected at over two lakh.

The cyclone is growing weaker now but the next 24 hours are still crucial to know the proper situation.

[flamy]

Aila???????

[Shehezaada]

Rip

[ViruRulez]

Aila???????

Aila is the name given to the cylone like there was hurricane Katrina in US etc. The name sounded funny at first and reminded me of Sachin but when I saw the destruction my laughter stopped and I felt very sad :((

[Guest Hiten.]

Cyclone tendulkar ? R.I.P victims

[flamy]

Aila is the name given to the cylone like there was hurricane Katrina in US etc. The name sounded funny at first and reminded me of Sachin but when I saw the destruction my laughter stopped and I felt very sad :((

Ya, I know. I laughed too. Was very feckin funny. Of course, the circumstances arent. :(( Don't mean to derail, but where do they come up with names for hurricanes? Who does? and LOL @ BB - ass. true tendulkar fan :icflove:

[mhr123]

But who gives these name to the Cyclone ... Katrina , Aila etcs...

[ViruRulez]

KOLKATA: The death toll due to Monday's havoc caused by cyclone 'Aila' in West Bengal rose to 45 today. The highest number of 20 deaths occurred in South 24 Parganas district followed by eight in North 24 Parganas, six each in Kolkata and Howrah, three in Birbhum and one each in Bankura and Malda, official sources said. Two columns of army, one each in Sandeshkhali and Kultali of North and South 24 Parganas districts respectively, were carrying out rescue and relief operations, defence spokesman Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani said. Six more army columns were on standby, he said. Two MI-17 helicopters were air-dropping food packets in the two worst hit areas in the two districts, he said. The army would also take up operations in Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas and Gosaba, Patharpratima and Sagardwip areas in South 24 Parganas. Railway minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to visit Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday. The cyclone and its after effects were over, regional meteorological centre director G C Debnath said. However, there was a possibility of rain, he said.

[ViruRulez]

Ya, I know. I laughed too. Was very feckin funny. Of course, the circumstances arent. :(( Don't mean to derail, but where do they come up with names for hurricanes? Who does? and LOL @ BB - ass. true tendulkar fan :icflove:

But who gives these name to the Cyclone ... Katrina ' date=' Aila etcs...[/quote'] Dont know who gives the names to these hurricanes, cyclones etc. .. I also want to know the same... I think the meterological dept. of the country gives the names

[The Outsider]

But who gives these name to the Cyclone ... Katrina ' date=' Aila etcs...[/quote'] The names start off alphabetically every season - not sure on what basis the exact names are decided but it alternates between male and female names between seasons.

[The Outsider]

What I wrote above applies only to hurricanes in US it seems. Found an article about the naming of cyclones : http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200905261931.htm

New Delhi (IANS): The name Aila for the fierce cyclone that battered Bangladesh and coastal West Bengal was given by Maldives. The next cyclone to hit countries in the north Indian Ocean region will be called Phyan - a name given by Myanmar. A cyclone that hit India and its neighbourhood between April 14 to 17 this year was called 'Bijli', given by India. Aila has left 27 dead and over 400,000 affected in West Bengal so far. Cyclones derive their names through a systematic procedure laid out by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). "It's better to give an identity to the cyclones as the main purpose of naming a cyclone is basically for people to easily understand and remember it in a region and to facilitate tropical cyclone disaster risk awareness, preparedness, management and reduction," D. Chakrabarthi, additional director general India Meteorological Department (IMD), told IANS. Met officials in fact have decided the names of cyclones till 2009-end. Eight north Indian Ocean countries - Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand - have prepared a list of 64 names. When a cyclone hits these countries, the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC), housed in the IMD office in New Delhi picks up the name next on the list. The RSMC has been set up in Delhi by the WMO for forecasting tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. "It is important to note that tropical cyclones are not named after any particular person, or with any alphabetical sequence preference. The names selected are those that are familiar to the people in each region,” said Mr. Chakrabarthi. Since 2004, the eight countries have faced 19 cyclones. The countries take turns in naming the cyclones. The last six were: Sidr (named by Oman), Nargis (Pakistan), Rashmi (Sri Lanka), Khai-Muk (Thailand), Nisha (Bangladesh) and Bijli (India). "All these countries meet once in two years and review the progress of cyclones and how many cyclones there were. Every country reports its assessment of the cyclones and then they arrive at a mutual plan of action, which includes creation of a database for the names to be given to tropical cyclones," M. Mohapatra, director Cyclone Division IMD, told IANS. "We have around 40 names right now. Once a name is used it cannot be used again for another cyclone," said Mr. Mohapatra. The practice of naming cyclones began years ago in order to help in the quick identification of storms in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms. The trend started in the 19th century in Australia where cyclones were named after corrupt politicians. It soon caught on in other countries, and met officials in some countries began naming cyclones after their former girlfriends or divorced wives. In the 1970s, the WMO in Geneva asked some countries around the Pacific Ocean to prepare a list of names and keep it ready. However, in the north Indian Ocean countries the naming of cyclones began in September 2004 following a meeting of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones in 2000.

[ViruRulez]

The number of deaths in the cyclone has been increased to 64 now