2 days ago
A Year After Calcutta Deluge, Bay System Raises Rain Concerns
Last year, Calcutta received an unusually large amount of rain in just a few hours.
The flooding killed at least nine people through electrocution.
Roads, railway tracks, hospitals and schools were covered with water.
Many cars were badly damaged, and power was cut in many places.
A new weather system is now moving across the Bay of Bengal.
It is expected to bring heavy rain to parts of eastern India.
Calcutta may receive rain, but forecasters do not currently expect it to be among the districts with the heaviest rainfall.
City officials and housing complexes say they have improved pumps and drainage systems to prepare.
More than 300mm of rain flooded Calcutta on September 23 last year, killing at least nine people by electrocution.
The deluge submerged roads, railway tracks, hospitals and classrooms, while damaging thousands of parked cars and disrupting flights and power supplies.
A deep depression over the west-central Bay of Bengal is forecast to cross the north Andhra Pradesh–south Odisha coast by Wednesday night.
Parts of south Bengal, including North and South 24-Parganas, are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain, while Calcutta is forecast to get moderate rainfall.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and several housing complexes say pumping, drainage and water-management preparations have been strengthened since last year.
- Who
- Calcutta residents, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, housing complexes and meteorologists are involved.
- What
- A year after a deadly rainstorm, a new deep depression is bringing renewed concern about heavy rainfall and flooding.
- Where
- Calcutta and parts of south Bengal, with the weather system approaching the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha coast.
- When
- The previous deluge occurred on September 23; the current system is expected to bring its most intense rain on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Why
- The Bay of Bengal weather system is forecast to produce widespread rain, while memories of last year’s flooding have prompted additional preparations.
Key facts
- Previous rainfall
- Garia received 330mm between midnight and 5am; Alipore recorded 252mm in five hours.
- Previous deaths
- At least nine people died, all from electrocution.
- Comparable rainfall
- Alipore last recorded similar rainfall on September 26, 1986, with 259.5mm.
- Current system
- The system intensified from a depression into a deep depression on Tuesday.
- Expected landfall
- It is expected to cross the north Andhra Pradesh–south Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur by Wednesday night.
- Calcutta forecast
- The city is expected to have cloudy conditions and moderate rainfall, rather than the heaviest rain forecast elsewhere.
- Municipal preparation
- All 80 pumping stations are being monitored, with additional pumps in place.
Quotes
H.R. Biswas
Head of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore
“A deep depression is still a big, powerful system. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha will bear the maximum brunt of the system. But Bengal will also get widespread rain. Heavy to very heavy rain is expected in some districts. The showers will be most intense on Wednesday and Thursday.”
telegraphindia.com
“In Calcutta, a consistently cloudy sky and moderate rainfall is likely.”
telegraphindia.com
A senior Kolkata Municipal Corporation official
Municipal official overseeing preparations for rainfall
“Additional pumps are in place to drain rainwater. We have also been cleaning the gully pits regularly since April.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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