Operations at the Calcutta airport, the busiest in eastern India, will be suspended for 12 hours beginning 6pm on Saturday due to Cyclone Bulbul, home ministry officials said.
The severe cyclone is expected to make a landfall on the Bengal coast on Saturday evening.
“Due to very the severe cyclone, Bulbul, operations at Calcutta airport is being suspend from 1800 hours on November 9 up to 0600 hours on November 10,” a home ministry official said.
Cyclone Bulbul at 1430 hours Saturday lay about 90km south-southeast of Digha, 85km south of Sagar Islands and 185km southeast of Calcutta.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by winds reaching up to 120kmph and tidal waves up to one to two metre, is expected while the cyclone is expected to make a landfall on the Bengal coast around 2000 to 2200 hours on Saturday.
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country’s apex body to handle any emergency, on Saturday reviewed the preparedness to deal with Cyclone Bulbul over the Bay of Bengal which is likely to affect coastal districts of Bengal and Odisha.
The meeting of the NCMC, headed by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, was informed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that the cyclone has now intensified and is likely to cross the Bengal coast by Saturday evening.
