Cyclone Aila hit West Bengal on May 25 with a fury unprecedented in recent history. It took at least 94 lives, seven of them in Kolkata, and affected over 40 lakh people. More than six lakh houses were destroyed completely or damaged partially. The cyclone originated in the Bay of Bengal around 750 kilometres away from Kolkata on May 23 and started making its way towards land. Its northern tip touched Kolkata on the afternoon of May 25 with a wind velocity of 120 km an hour. Kolkata was battered by the cyclone. After Aila skirted past the city, uprooted trees lay scattered all over, many with vehicles crushed under them. More than 30 main roads were blocked by fallen trees and traffic movement was badly affected. As many as 1,800 trees are said to have been uprooted in the four hours of lashing that the city received from the edge of the cyclone. The closest Aila got to Kolkata was between 3-30 p.m. and 4 p.m. when the wind speed was clocked at 120 kmph. At least four people in the city were crushed to death under falling trees. By around 6 p.m. Kolkata had faced the worst, as the cyclone started heading northwards. The city had come to a standstill as schools, offices and shops remained closed, air and rail traffic came to a halt, and large areas were rendered without electricity. TWO-WORST HIT DISTRICTS Two districts that bore the brunt of Aila