May 20, 2020

Anna Murray 

Cyclone Amphan reportedly has made landfall in India near the Bangladeshi border on May 20. Under the circumstances of potentially catastrophic storm surges and flooding from heavy rains, India’s government warned more than 300,000 people in coastal areas of the immediate danger in the Bay of Bengal.

The Bay of Bengal has played a pivotal role in the surrounding nations, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Myanmar. It is regarded as the largest bay in the world with more than 500 million people living on the surrounding coastal rim. For decades, the Bay of Bengal has been the site of the majority of the deadliest tropical cyclones on record.

In the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, UN agencies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have already denounced drifting boats full of vulnerable women, men and children are unable to come ashore. The UN agencies are deeply concerned that thousands of the stranded people in Bay of Bengal are unable to come ashore, including hundreds of ethnic communities Rohingya from Western Myanmar.

The Super Cyclone Amphan made landfall at 5 PM on May 20 with storm surge up to 5 meters (17 feet) along the coastline. The Super Cyclone Amphan reportedly continues to whirl inland across Bangladesh and eastern India with sustained wind speed at 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph), being an intensity equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane.