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Tens of thousands evacuated as India, Bangladesh brace for super cyclone

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High wind speeds could make Amphan one of the biggest storms to hit India in about a decade, as authorities try to protect villagers while preventing the spread of COVID-19

(Corrects to clarify two coronavirus cases were detected in Cox's Bazar)

By Subrata Nagchoudhry Ruma Paul

KOLKATA/DHAKA, May 19 (Reuters) - Authorities in eastern India and Bangladesh were scrambling on Tuesday to move tens of thousands of villagers away from coasts expected to suffer widespread damage from a super cyclone, a task complicated by the battle on the coronavirus.

India faces one of its biggest storms in about a decade, the weather office said, as the super cyclone Amphan, equivalent to a hurricane of category 5, is expected to hit its coast late on Wednesday.

"We have just about six hours left to evacuate people from their homes and we also have to maintain social distancing norms," a disaster management official, S.G. Rai, told Reuters.

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