Cyclone Amphan

Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically in West Bengal and Odisha, and in Bangladesh, in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Ganges Delta. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to hit India since 1999. It was a rare cyclone that lashed northern Bangladesh from Rajshahi to Rangpur in the early hours of 21 May with strong winds. It caused severe damage to mango production of Rajshahi and Rangpur. It was also the fourth super cyclone that hit West Bengal and Kolkata as well as being one of the strongest storms to impact the area. Causing over US$15 billion of damage, Amphan was also the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, until it was surpassed by Cyclone Senyar in 2025. The first tropical cyclone of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Amphan originated from a low-pressure area persisting a couple of hundred miles (300 km) east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 13 May 2020. Tracking northeastward, the disturbance organized over exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures; the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) upgraded the system to a tropical depression on 15 May while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) followed suit the following day. On 17 May, Amphan underwent rapid intensification and became an extremely severe cyclonic storm within 12 hours.