West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (21 May) said the cyclonic storm Amphan has caused at least 72 deaths in the state and asked Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to visit to the see the destruction, Hindustan Times reported.

“I would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come and visit Cyclone Amphan-affected areas” she said at a press briefing, according to PTI. Her statement came hours after PM Modi tweeted that the country was in solidarity with West Bengal.

“There have been casualties. I announce a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to the families of those who died in cyclone Amphan,” she said.

The cyclonic storm, said to be the strongest from the Bay of Bengal in decades, has also caused lives in Bangladesh. Two people including an infant have also died in Odisha.

Earlier today, the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), after reviewing the situation in the affected areas of Odisha and West Bengal, decided to send more teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Team to pace up the restoration and rescue work.

Amphan’s landfall began on Wednesday at around 2:30pm at West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts near Sunderbans. During landfall, the storms’ sustained wind speed was 155-165 kmph spiralling up to 185 kmph.

However, the stormed weakened as it moved on the land and the current centre is in Bangladesh.