'Bengal will fight back': CM Mamata confirms 80 dead & 60% people hit by Cyclone Amphan

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing the media on Friday morning over the Cyclone Amphan said that the evacuation measures helped in saving people. Speaking to the media, she said, "We had the warning much before. God saved us as we managed to evacuate at least six lakh people." The Chief Minister further added that the "people of Bengal will fight back."

Speaking about the effects of the devastating cyclone, the CM said that while 60 percent of the people in the state have been affected, 80 people have lost their lives. Mamata Banerjee will be visiting and taking stock of the 24 Parganas district which has been the worst-affected. She will also conduct a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting West Bengal to take stock of the situation. 

Read: PM Modi to survey Cyclone Amphan-hit areas of West Bengal & Odisha; here's his schedule

PM Modi to chair two review meeting s

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached West Bengal on Friday morning to take stock of the situation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan and took off with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and the state's Governor Jagdeep Dhankar for an aerial survey. The Prime Minister will attend a meeting at Basirhat along with state officials after which he will leave once more for Kolkata airport to go to Odisha. Sources said that he will arrive at Bhubaneswar Airport around 3 pm from where he will conduct an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in an MI-17 helicopter and attend a review meeting. 

Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal

Cyclone Amphan which reported winds up to 190 kmph made landfall at the Digha coast of West Bengal at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, hitting Kolkata a few hours later. There were widespread power cuts in large parts of Kolkata, North 24 Paraganas, and South Paraganas. Mobile and internet services were also down in parts as the cyclone had damaged several communication towers. 

Read: Cyclone Amphan: PM to visit affected areas in Odisha, Bengal; to conduct review meetings

Streets and homes in low lying areas of Kolkata were swamped with rainwater. Portions of several dilapidated buildings came crashing down in Kolkata and other parts of the state. Embankments in Sundarban delta - a UNESCO site - were also breached as the surge whipped up by the cyclone inundated several kilometers of the island. 

Read: Cyclone Amphan LIVE Updates: PM Modi to visit Odisha and WB on May 22 to review situation

Read: Cyclone Amphan: PM to visit affected areas in Odisha, Bengal; to conduct review meetings