"The cyclone has battered Bangladeshi coastal areas. The velocity of the wind in that area is 220 to 240 kilometres," said Samarendra Karmakar, the director of Bangladesh's meteorological department Around 650,000 vWagers were evacuated from the coastal areas. No casualties were immediately reported, but rescue teams were on standby, an official said, adding that communications with remote areas and offshore islands were cut.

In Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the cabinet discussed emergency measures. The air force was asked to remain on standby to provide helicopters for relief at short notice. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued warnings to West Bengal, Orissa and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In West Bengal, warnings were issued in Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Paraganas and east Midnapore districts. There was panic in Kolkata, where people remained glued to TV screens and weather websites for the latest on the storm. There were sighs of relief as news came in that the cyclone had spared the state. However, Regional Meteorological Centre director G.C. Debnath told PTI that the entire gangetic belt of West Bengal would experience heavy to very heavy rain in the next 24 hours.