AG百家乐在线官网

Super cyclone Amphan: India and Bangladesh brace for 98mph winds amid coronavirus pandemic

The storm, thought to be one of the most powerful in a decade, could bring 98mph winds and heavy rainfall to India and Bangladesh.

A Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) volunteer uses a megaphone to urge residents to evacuate to shelters ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan in Khulna on May 19, 2020. - India and Bangladesh began evacuating more than two million people May 18 as a cyclone barrelled towards their coasts, with officials racing to ready extra shelters amid fears of coronavirus contagion in cramped refuges. (Photo by Kazi Shanto / AFP) (Photo by KAZI SHANTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Image: Residents in Bangladesh are being urged to move away from coastal areas
Why you can trust Sky News

Tens of thousands of people are being urged to move away from coastal areas in India and Bangladesh ahead of a super cyclone expected to hit the region.

Amphan, which could be as strong as a category five hurricane, is set to be one of the region's most powerful storms in about a decade with winds up to 98mph.

There may also be tidal waves and heavy rainfall that could lead to major flooding.

Officials are scrambling to move people away from coastal areas, but are facing setbacks due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The cyclone is due to hit India's coastline on Wednesday
Image: The cyclone is due to hit India's coastline on Wednesday

The storm is expected to hit the Indian coast late on Wednesday, so teams have to work quickly, but within social distancing guidelines, to make people safe amid fears homes could be washed away.

In the Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal, families are being moved in a race against time into more than 1,000 shelters with quarantine facilities being re-purposed into safe locations from the cyclone.

Over the border in Bangladesh, people in low-lying areas along the coast are being moved away, while being urged to wear masks to protect against COVID-19 infection and respect social distancing.

More on Bangladesh

Junior minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman said around 12,000 shelters had been set up, that can accommodate more than five million people.

The storm is one of the biggest in a decade for India
Image: The storm is set to be one of the biggest in a decade in India

The storm is expected to make landfall between the regions of Chittagong and Khulna - around 93 miles away from refugee camps that are housing more than a million Rohingya in flimsy shelters.

International aid workers are racing to stockpile food, water and shelters, but have warned that the tight, poor conditions leave refugees in the camps vulnerable to not only the storm, but also the coronavirus.

"We are really very worried," said Haiko Magtrayo, a Red Cross worker based in the town of Cox's Bazar.