Got through to 5 friends in the #Sundarbans, only Jio SIMs seem to be working, IF the @PMCares, provide immediate relief to blocks that have been severely hit by #CycloneAmphan @MamataOfficial @AITCofficial @MahuaMoitra @ntca_india @WCCBHQ @moefcc @derekobrienmp Updates below

Migrants not been able to send remittances for the past two months, several haven't returned, others will not be able to find work outside due to the lockdown to rebuild their lives. In the villages, roads have completely caved in; sweet water ponds have submerged.

Even the concrete so called “modern” embankments made up of cinder and cement have cracked, been swallowed by the hungry tide @GhoshAmitav & paddy fields and ponds are submerged with saline water. Fresh water fish have died. It will take 2-3 years before agriculture can resume.

Roofs, esp. thatch/ mud but also alabaster have collapsed. Belongings are soaked, essential items like medicines have swum away. Livestock has died, though a friend Manoj cleverly locked his goat and two baby goats on the 2nd floor of a tourist lodge, and they are fine:) @wbtdcl

Fishing boats have either broken or submerged. These cost an average of 30-35k. Households who @AnnuJal so beautifully writes about who rely on fishing, crab collecting or honey collecting in the mangrove creeks, the naukas are their biggest assets and only source of income.

Several have minor injuries from fallen trees, have hurt themselves retrieving their belongings, a friend slipped while wading through torrential rain & wind. It has been terrifying for children. Deb, 8 years old, cried through the night. This morning he still felt scared.

On top of this, in Kultali, residents went to the BDO's office today to urge him to provide immediate relief but he was too busy preparing for the @PMOIndia visit & an aerial survey of effected areas & had no time to meet those from the ground with requests for assistance.