On the evening of 20th May 2020, a category 4 cyclone (ESC – Extremely Severe Cyclone) named Amphan hit the state of West Bengal in India. It passed through the city of Kolkata, where I live and caused unprecedented destruction.
I posted the following write-up on Facebook on 21st May 2020 (link):
It will be useless if we only lament and not take a lesson from the disasters. These are a few of my observations regarding the trees in Salt Lake (WB). I did a rough survey by car and covered a large part of Salt Lake. This was done on the afternoon of 21st May 2020, i.e. the day immediately after the cyclone Amphan and before the municipality had got a chance to clear the trees.
This is not a scientific analysis but this is not a random post either. Over the years, I have observed the trees after the storm. There is a clear pattern which shows that some trees will remain unaffected and some will get easily damaged.
It would help immensely if my friends share their first hand observations (only first hand) about the trees which have survived or succumbed to Amphan or other similar cyclones. Given the present scenario of global warming, we can only expect the storms to get worser. Whether Kolkata will be on its path is just a matter of luck.
It will be useless if we only lament and not take a lesson from the disasters. These are a few of my observations regarding the trees in Salt Lake (WB). I did a rough survey by car and covered a large part of Salt Lake. This was done on the afternoon of 21st May 2020, i.e. the day immediately after the cyclone Amphan and before the municipality had got a chance to clear the trees.
This is not a scientific analysis but this is not a random post either. Over the years, I have observed the trees after the storm. There is a clear pattern which shows that some trees will remain unaffected and some will get easily damaged.
It would help immensely if my friends share their first hand observations (only first hand) about the trees which have survived or succumbed to Amphan or other similar cyclones. Given the present scenario of global warming, we can only expect the storms to get worser. Whether Kolkata will be on its path is just a matter of luck.
1. The Radhachura tree (Peltophorum pterocarpum) is the worst choice of a tree for urban plantation. The tree has a very shallow root structure and topples at the slightest storm. This observation is not new. It has been my observation for the last few years. In addition, the tree over time grows to gigantic heights. After Amphan there are very few Radhachuras which are upright in Salt Lake.
2. Eucalyptus trees should be banned from the city. Firstly, the tree is not native. Secondly, it grows quickly to gigantic heights and topples at the slightest storm. Quite a few buildings have got damaged due to Eucalyptus toppling over them.
3. Mahagony (mostly Swietenia mahagoni and one Swietenia macrophylla) Despite its dense foliage the tree is prone to breakage and toppling. Have seen at least 3-4 mahagonies uprooted and lot more with broken branches.
Update: 23/5/2020: Some more uprooted Swietenia mahagoni seen today. These were huge trees and could have caused considerable damage to structures. Very prone to toppling, I would say.
4. Few mango trees got uprooted in the storm. However, large branches have broken off from most of the mango trees.
5. Kalojam (Syzygium cumini) is a tree whose branches are highly prone to breakage in the storm. Few Kalojam trees got uprooted.
Update 22/5: Several Kalojam trees have been uprooted.
Update 22/5: More Kalojam trees seen which have been uprooted. Even some young ones.
Jungle Jilipi (Pithecellobium dulce) – branches extremely brittle. Large branches broke off. Tree did not topple.
Kath Badam (Terminalia catappa) – Several got uprooted. Large sections broke off. Main trunk snapped. Happened even in young trees. In short, almost everywhere this tree is lying in debris. Unfortunately, this tree is popular with urban forestry department because of its shape and quick growth.
6. Kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba): The tree breaks from top but does not topple. Several Kadams seen with the main trunk snapped.
Update: Large breakages and few uprooted trees seen.
A lovely tree and my personal favourite. This tree attracts lot of birds and has lovely flowers. Should be replanted in the playgrounds.
7. Chatim (Alstonia scholaris). There are several of them in Salt Lake. They have dealt with the storm very well. Except for one huge tree where a large portion broke off, almost all other trees are intact.
8. Coconut (Cocos nucifera). Few got uprooted but most of them stood firm. Surprisingly, in the Narkelbagan area, where the coconut trees are present in clusters over a large stretch, very few got uprooted. Almost negligible.
9. Arjun (Terminalia arjuna). Though the tree is native and medicinally useful, it is not a very strong tree. Saw quite a few uprooted trees and a few with broken branches and broken trunks.
10. Sisoo (Dalbergia sissoo) is a star performer in this region. Almost unscathed.
11. Bakul (Mimusops elengi) is an exceptional performer. Despite their dense canopy, they have come out with flying colours. Not a single breakage seen.
Update 23/5/2020: Inspected the very tall Bakul trees on the Baisakhi avenue leading to AMP Mall and inside Baisakhi playground. The trees were very tall and mature. Large sections broke from the top of at least five trees but the trees have survived. Not a single one toppled. Inspected several other trees and found them to be intact.
12. Peepal (Ficus religiosa). Magnificent tree. Not a single leaf got dislodged. Not a single twig broke off. Not a single tree got uprooted.
Update 22/5: Main trunk broke in two trees. One very large tree, one medium. The trees were pruned with no branches on the main trunk till a considerable height.
13. Krishnachura (Delonix regia). Saw two uprooted trees.
Update 22/5: Two more trees seen uprooted. The trees were looking sick for a long time much before the storm.
Update: More uprooted trees seen.
The Krishnachura trees in Salt Lake look very sick. Some disease is eating the trunks.
14. Kanthal (Artocarpus heterophyllus) have performed well. Not a single one got uprooted. Even the fruits are still attached. One minor breakage seen.
Update 22/5: One minor breakage seen.
15. Neem (Azadirachta indica). Withstands heat remarkably but quite a few got uprooted.
Update 22/5: One more uprooted.
16. Debdaru (Polyalthia longifolia). Most trees remained unaffected. However, two or three very large trees got uprooted.
Update 22/5: One more large tree seen uprooted.
17. Rain tree (Samanea saman) are extremely prone to breakage. The breakages are large.
18. Swet Champa (Magnolia alba). Flexible tree. Sways a lot but does not break off easily.
19. Paras peepul (Thespesia populnea). No breakage or uprooting seen. Five to six inspected.
20. Supari (Areca catechu) breaks as a long stick would break when pressure is applied in the middle.
21. Kath Champa(Plumeria). The Plumeria obtusa are very strong and remained unscathed. Other Plumeria variants also did very well. Salt lake has quite a few old Plumerias. One Plumeria got uprooted in front of our house. However, I suspect underground drilling near the base of the tree for Jio underground cables played a part in weakening its root structure.
22. Bot (Ficus benghalensis). One got uprooted. Branches broke off from others. I presume bot trees lose a lot of strength when prop roots are cut or not allowed to grow.
Update 22/5: One more bot seen uprooted.
23. Asok (Saraca asoka), Kamini (Murray Exotica), Kolke (Cascabela thevetia), Karabi (Nerium oleander ) and Kanchan (Bauhinia acuminata) are small trees and remained unaffected by the storm.
24. Peyara (Guava). Few small trees got uprooted.
25. Cordia (Cordia sebestana). Except for a few breaks here and there, most of them have survived.
26. Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia). Few got uprooted. Others broke.
27. Kanak champa / Bayur (Pterospermum acerifolium). Few minor branches broke from most of the trees. Otherwise, most of the trees are fine.
28. Rubber plant (Ficus elastica). No effect. Only few trees in Salt Lake.
Update 22/5: One major breakage seen.
29. Jarul (Lagerstroemia speciosa). Large sections broke off from most of the trees. Branches extremely brittle. However, not a single tree got uprooted.
30. Tabebuia. Most of them are intact in Salt Lake and Rajarhat.
31. Palash (Butea monosperma). Saw only one tree which got uprooted. Rest are doing fine.
32. Simul (Bombax ceiba). Large sections broke off. No toppling. Main trunk seen snapped in two trees.
33. Mahua (Madhuca longifolia). Three inspected. Medium sized trees. All standing tall. No major breakages seen.
34. Amaltas/Bandor Lathi (Cassia fistula). All intact.
35. Deowa fol (Artocarpus lakoocha). Mostly intact.
36. Rudrapalash/African Tulip (Spathodea campanulata). Main trunk snapped in many trees.
37. Sajne (Moringa oleifera). Mostly intact. Minor breaks. Anyway the tree responds very well to pollarding.
38. Akashmoni (Acacia auriculiformis). Branches extremely brittle. Large portions broke off.
39. Bhola (Kleinhovia hospita). One large tree fell in a playground. Three more inspected. One got slightly tilted. Rest two are fine.
40. Casuarina. Large breakages seen. Quite a few old trees got uprooted.
41. Saranga (Gliricidia sepium). At least three very large trees have been uprooted.
42. Segun/Teak (Tectona grandis). The trees did not break or topple.
43. Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima).
Update 23/5: Most of the trees upright. Minor breakages.
Update 24/5: Mostly unaffected.
44. Java bot (Ficus benjamina). At least the small trees are intact. Need to check the larger trees.
45. Nagalinga / Cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis). Yet to inspect.
46. Amloki (Phyllanthus emblica). Will inspect.
47. Bael (Aegle marmelos): Mostly unaffected. No breakages seen. No trees found uprooted. Inspected trees quite old.
Few other observations:
1. Underground drilling to install Jio cables might have caused the demise of a small percentage of trees.
2. The impact of the cyclone on the trees in open playgrounds was severe and caused widespread destruction.
3. Rampant pruning probably played a part in making several trees top heavy and also in making them lopsided.
4. Several large trees had concrete right upto the base. No space was left around the base of the tree as mandated. Could have caused the roots to become weak.