Cyclone and Storm Surge - Iczmpwb.org

2.7
affected most. Here, the the landfall of the cyclone occurs and the dangers of inundation by storm
surges as well as destruction of low-cost houses due to strong winds reign supreme. Also, the
geographical location of this region is such that it has high chances of cyclone landfall. Though the
Blocks of the East Midnapore are as close to the Bay of Bengal as those of the 24 Parganas-South,
the alignment of the coastline here and the geographical location makes the probability of landfall
rare. Of course, the rise in ocean level caused by a storm track grazing close by, may nevertheless
cause inundation. Some portions of the Districts of 24 Parganas-North and Howrah though not
coming very close to ocean, still suffer from the impending threat of river level rise due to a rise of the
ocean level caused by a cyclone induced storm surge. The District of Hooghly is much inland, but as
the event of 1737 had proved, a probable track of a tropical cyclone being incidentally aligned with
the axis of the river Hooghly may cause a violent upsurge, especially since the water rushing up from
the estuary would have to move up through the river where the width is relatively narrow.
In most of the Blocks in the coastal West Bengal, and especially in the District of 24 Parganas-South,
the land is rather low lying and the habitation areas along with the neighbouring agricultural fields are
protected by embankments. The adjoining region to the east is the world famous mangrove forest of
the Gangetic delta – The Sundarbans. In order to appreciate the magnitude of the cyclonic hazard
and the means adopted to mitigate consequential damages, it is necessary to review the
geographical and historical situations in these areas before and after the establishment of substantial
habitation from its pristine characteristics of a marshy and swampy land.
The State capital Kolkata also falls in the cyclone prone region, as stated before. However, the urban
characteristics of Kolkata and its surroundings distinguish the damages here from that of the typical
rural countryside of the Districts. The types of problems facing Kolkata and its neighbouring urban
regions have been discussed separately in Chapter 3. In the present chapter, discussion is restricted
to the region other than Kolkata.
2.3.1. Geographical extent
The coastal region of the State of West Bengal is prone to the effects of cyclonic storms. Broadly, the
West Bengal coast can be divided into two parts, on either side of the mouth of the river Hooghly.
This may be seen from Figure 5 which illustrates the Development Blocks of the districts of Medinipur
east and 24 Parganas South that hug the Bay of Bengal. Towards the east are the Gangetic deltaic
tracts which are mostly shoals, sand spits, mud flats and tidal swamps and flats and towards the east
are the Medinipur coastal plains which comprise of mostly sandy beaches. The geophysical nature of