CNN  — 

Cyclone Amphan made landfall in eastern India on Wednesday afternoon local time and began sweeping north, leaving at least 12 dead and destroying thousands of homes just over the border in Bangladesh.

The cyclone hit land near Sagar Island in West Bengal, India, at around 5 p.m. local time Wednesday (7.30 a.m. ET) and began tracking north toward the Indian city of Kolkata, home to approximately 14 million people, with wind speeds of up to 160 kph (100 mph), according to data from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The state of West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at least 12 people had died in eastern India, with one young girl in the Howrah district dying after a wall from her house collapsed.