Kolkata:
Two persons were killed in tree collapse as a severe storm with a wind speed of 80 km per hour hit Kolkata and its neighbouring districts with Cyclone Aila expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast on Monday.
"Two persons were killed in tree collapse in the city, while 32 roads have been blocked by falling trees, Commissioner of Kolkata Police Goutam Mohan Chakraborty said.
He said he had asked principals to close educational institutions by 2.00 pm.
The storm was a precursor of the cyclone, which was 100 km away and expected to hit coastal districts on Monday, Regional Director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) G C Debnath said.
In the two districts of North and South 24 Parganas, neighbouring Kolkata, hundreds of mud houses collapsed while there were breaches in embankments flooding 200 villages, reports from districts said.
The West Bengal government held an emergency meeting and readied contingency measures, including evacuation of people from vulnerable areas.
The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal had turned into a cyclonic storm which would be accompanied by heavy to very heavy rains, the Met department said.