East Midnapore district authorities have started preparations for setting up shelters where people can be kept by maintaining social distancing norms before cyclone Amphan makes landfall on Wednesday.
“We have about 43 cyclone shelters in seven blocks. Together, they can accommodate 50,000 people, but we will have to reduce that number by half because of social distancing,” a district official said on Monday.
Weather officials predict that the storm will hit hardest the 7km stretch of the East Midnapore coastal zone between Digha and Haldia.
Officials began the first phase of shifting people from risky dwellings to the shelters on Monday. In addition, the officials have requisitioned nearly 600 schools to accommodate persons who cannot be put up in cyclone shelters.
“A single room in a shelter could house 20 people. But now, we can allow five at most,” said disaster management official Mritunjay Haldar, adding that the blocks that faced most risks were Ramnagar 1 and 2, Contai 1 and 2, Khejuri 1 and 2, and Nandigram 1.
“We have already asked people near the shelters to move there without delay,” Haldar said.
The officials said the coronavirus-induced lockdown had made their job easier this time compared to the period before cyclone Fani’s landfall in May last year. More than 5,000 tourists had to be shifted out of Digha in May last year.
The 1,000-odd hotels at Digha have been largely empty since April because of the lockdown and they are being used to shelter people ahead of Amphan’s landfall.
“When Fani struck last May, Digha was full of tourists the day before. We hired many buses to get them out. But we don’t have that problem this time,” said Ramnagar BDO Bishnupada Roy. “This time we have to ensure social distancing and proper sanitisation at the shelters. Our officials will enforce them,” he added.
On Sunday, a 32-strong team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Kalyani reached Digha.
Sources said they would join a team of civic volunteers and civil defence personnel to respond to the effects of the cyclone. “We are asking people staying at concrete structures to remain there. They are understandably reluctant to house their relatives because of Covid-19. So, there will be an added pressure on shelters,” said an official.
The officials also estimated boro dhan (paddy) harvest could take a hit from the cyclone — in the wake of already-severe lockdown restrictions — if farmers were unable to pick their remaining crop before Tuesday.