Indian Ocean cyclone

This item appears on page 4 of the July 2020 issue.

Cyclone Amphan, classed as a super cyclone, made landfall in India and Bangladesh on May 20 with wind gusts of up to 115 miles per hour. At least 84 people were killed, 72 of whom were in India. The city of Kolkata was badly damaged, leaving all of the city’s 14 million citizens without power. It was the first super cyclone to form in the Indian Ocean since 1999.

Prior to its making landfall, millions of people were evacuated from the area. However, many evacuation shelters were already in use as COVID-19 quarantine shelters, and it was reported that some evacuees refused to shelter with others due to concerns about the disease.