The effects of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season in India was considered one of the worst in decades, largely due to Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan. Throughout most of the year, a series of cyclones impacted the country, with the worst damage occurring in May, from Cyclone Amphan. The season started with Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan, which affected East India with very severe damages. 98 total people died from the storm. Approximately of power lines of varying voltages, 126,540 transformers, and 448 electrical substations were affected, leaving 3.4 million without power. Damage to the power grid reached ₹3.2 billion (US$42 million). Four people died in Odisha, two from collapsed objects, one due to drowning, and one from head trauma. Across the ten affected districts in Odisha, 4.4 million people were impacted in some way by the cyclone. At least 500 homes were destroyed and a further 15,000 were damaged. Nearly 4,000 livestock, primarily poultry, died. The cyclone was strongest at its northeast section. The next storm was a depression that did not affect India. Then Severe Cyclonic Storm Nisarga hit Maharashtra, with high damages. Nisarga caused 6 deaths and 16 injuries in the state. Over of land were damaged.
Then three depressions, BOB 02, BOB 03, and ARB 03, brought heavy rains to India. Soon after, Cyclone Nivar brought high winds and heavy rain to South India, and it costed $600 million (2020 USD). Cyclone Burevi only brushed Kerala and Tamil Nadu, only bringing rain. Flooding occurred in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, inundating the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple. Crop damage also occurred in the area. However, the state of Kerala was spared from the worst of the storm. Burevi left 11 people dead with 5 others missing as of December 6, 2020. Burevi was the last storm of the season.
Seasonal Statistics
Seasonal Activity
May
Cyclone Amphan
The only storm of the month, Amphan caused lots of damage to standing crops, thousands of trees were uprooted, and power and water supply was interrupted in the state capital Kolkata. At least 86 people died in West Bengal; most of the fatalities were due to electrocution or the collapse of homes. The state government estimated that the storm caused at least ₹1.02 trillion (US$13.5 billion) in damage and directly affected 70 percent of the state's population. An estimated storm surge of inundated a wide swath of coastal communities and communications were severed. The greatest inundations were expected in the Sundarbans, where flooding could extend inland. Embankments in the region were overtaken by the surge, leading to inundation of the islands in the Sundarbans. Bridges linking islands to the Indian mainland were swept away. The cyclone produced sustained winds of and gusts to , which were recorded by the Alipore observatory, Kolkata, West Bengal, damaging homes and uprooting trees and electric poles. Wind speed along coastal areas were measured up to . In Canning a wind speed of with gusting up to was recorded, while nearby Nimpith and Sagar Island observed and wind speed. The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport recorded wind speeds up to .This overturned vehicles and snapped approximately 10,000 trees. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation stated that Amphan toppled over 4,000 electric poles, leaving much of the city without power for over 14 hours.
At least 19 people were killed in Kolkata. The storm also triggered widespread flooding around the city. 236 mm of rain was recorded in Kolkata. Many in the state have lost their entire homes as well. Also, electricity and telephone lines brought down and houses flattened. Lots of roads were flooded and 14 million were without power. In North 24 Parganas, 2 people were killed and up to 5,500 homes were damaged. Thousands of mud homes were damaged in the neighboring Hooghly district. A million homes were damaged in South 24 Parganas and breached embankments led to the flooding of villages and swaths of cropland. About 26,000 homes were destroyed in Gosaba. Saltwater inundation affected surrounding areas following damage to of nearby embankments. Around 150 km from the area in Nadia, the storm caused severe damage. Across West Bengal, 88,000 hectares (217,000 acres) of rice paddies and 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of vegetable and sesame crops were damaged. 17 people died in the West Bengal State, and 98 total in India. Amphan was the worst in 283 years.