Highrise housing complexes advised residents to keep their windows shut and jam their sliding rails with pieces of cloth or erasers, keep elevators parked on the upper floors and have the handbrake and gear slotted in cars in anticipation of Cyclone Remal.

Advisories issued by residents’ welfare associations also listed measures like keeping potted plants inside and not keeping anything on window ledges, terraces and balconies so nothing flies off and turns into a missile.

For under-construction sites, the authorities have directed builders to secure tower cranes mounted atop large under-construction buildings to pull up loads, tighten scaffolding and allow no work at a height or in the open in the run-up to the storm.

Police have advised residents to stock fuel for generator sets, and keep saws and cutters handy so they can be easily accessed if a tree gets uprooted inside a complex and not touch dangling wires.

The Met has said gusts of wind clocking 100kmph are likely to hit Calcutta after the cyclone strikes land in the southern tip of Bengal.

Engineers said residents of multi-storeyed buildings should not panic in case they feel the structure sway lightly hit by gusty winds.

“Oscillation of a multi-storeyed building during a storm is necessary and desirable as the movement helps transfer load from top to bottom and prevent damage to the structure. The movement doesn’t cause discomfort but can dislodge items on shelves kept at a height. So those living on the upper floors should secure items kept on shelves,” said an engineer of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).

In Urbana, a housing complex where the towers rise to 45 floors, residents have formed a disaster management committee and set up
a standard operating procedure.

“Our gas connections will be turned off and, if need be, the power supply will be turned off, too. Our generator sets are on standby. Advisories are being circulated on our residents’ WhatsApp group on how to properly reinforce doors and windows when the cyclone lashes the city,” said a resident who lives on the 33rd floor of the housing complex, around 700m east from the Ruby intersection.

At South City on Prince Anwar Shah Road, which has 35 floors, residents have been asked to ensure that their doors, particularly balcony doors and sliding windows, are secured with rubber or cardboard pieces. The residents have been asked to keep their mobile phones charged, torches handy and doors and windows closed.

“We have also reinforced trees in our compound using ropes and have tied them down with stakes driven into the ground to prevent them from tipping over. Our lifts will be parked on the first-floor level to prevent any water damage,” said Manoj Gupta a resident of South City

At Rosedale Garden, near Karigori Bhavan in New Town, where each tower has 25 floors, residents have been asked not to touch any electric poles and wires.

“Residents have been asked to stow away anything that can become a projectile during the cyclone,” said Ranjan Bose, president of the residents’ welfare association there.

In New Town, NKDA chairman Alapan Bandyopadhyay said: “We have listed basic safety measures for residents of multi-storeyed buildings as well as under-construction sites. We have been trying to make residents aware that small steps during a storm can work wonders when it comes to safety.”