Sitrang leaves trail of destruction in southern Bangladesh
Death toll reaches at least 21, more than 10,000 houses damaged, crops on 6,000 hectares spoiled
Cyclone Sitrang has left behind a trail of destruction in the country's southern swathe as at least 21 people died after the storm made landfall late Monday, according to officials.
Sitrang left road communications and power links snapped and houses devastated in those districts on the coastal belt.
The cyclone mainly swept over Bhola, Noakhali and Chattogram and damaged 10,000 houses and crops of 6,000 hectares of land in 419 unions, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman said at a press briefing at the ministry on Tuesday afternoon.
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Besides, 1,000 fish enclosures were overflooded, he said.
"Thankfully, it was a cyclone, not a supercyclone," State Minister Enamur Rahman said, adding that cyclone-affected people in the coastal districts will be provided with corrugated iron sheets to repair houses. Besides, fish farmers will get easy loans.
The state minister informed the official briefing about nine deaths in the cyclone, but data provided by field officials suggests the tally at 21 at least.
He said families of the deceased will get Tk25,000 each.
The cyclone – the equivalent of hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the west Pacific – made landfall in southern Bangladesh late on Monday but authorities had managed to get about 10 lakh people to safety before the monster weather system hit.
The locals gathered at the cyclone shelters in the coastal districts by the evening as the met office issued a danger signal 7 on Monday morning.
Enamur Rahman said around 10 lakh people took shelter in 6,925 shelters during the storm. They started returning home on Tuesday morning.
The cyclone barrelled in from the Bay of Bengal early Monday with winds gusting up to 88km/h and a storm surge of about three metres that flooded low-lying coastal areas.
Power and telephone links have been largely cut and coastal areas plunged into darkness, officials said.
At another press conference at the Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the cyclone left the power distribution network in the southern part fractured.
"Around 80 lakh people are still left without power. We expect to restore the system and resume electricity supply to 70% of them soon," he added.
Most deaths by falling trees
Until Tuesday night, at least 21 people were reported dead across the country after trees and walls collapsed on them. Boat capsize and drowning during the disaster also contributed to the tally.
The deaths were reported from Bhola Sadar, Daulatkhan, Lalmohan and Char Fasson, Cumilla's Nangalkot, Gopalganj's Tungipara and Munshiganj's Louhjongi, Narail's Lohagara, Barguna Sadar, Noakhali's Subarnachar, Brahmanbaria's Kasba, Shariatpur's Janjira, Sirajganj and Patuakhali.
During the storm, police reported the death of a rickshaw-puller after a wall collapsed in Dhaka's Hazaribagh. In Chattogram Sitakunda, the body of a child was found in tidal water, which police believe was washed away by the tidal surge.
Eight workers of a trawler were feared dead after it overturned in the Bay of Bengal in Mirsarai area of Chattogram during the cyclone. On Monday at around 10pm, the trawler used for sand extraction overturned in the Mirsarai Economic Zone area.
Fire service was conducting the rescue operations, but none was found till Tuesday night while this report was being filed.
Damage outlook yet to ascertained
In Noakhali, the cyclone affected nearly 4 lakh people as the low-lying coastal areas got flooded by the tidal surge. However, the water started receding from Tuesday afternoon. Still the power supply remained suspended as the mobile phone network was jeopardised too.
In Lakshmipur, Aman and winter vegetables took a beating. Power connections were yet to be restored in most of the areas as mobile phone and Internet services were also hampered.
Satkhira agri officer Mohammad Jamaluddin said Aman on at least 410 hectares of land was damaged due to gusty winds and rains. District fisheries officer Anisur Rahman said there was no report of any damage to the fish enclosures.
In Khulna, some 1,600 houses were destroyed by the storm. In some areas, downpours and gusty winds damaged standing Aman. Khulna Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Ranjit Kumar Sarkar said the district's fisheries sector could dodge the destruction thanks to no massive tidal surge during the cyclone.
Faridpur Department of Agricultural Extension Deputy Director Md Ziaul Haque said the cyclone ruined Aman, different types of pulses and vegetables. They are yet to ascertain the total loss.
In Bhola, hundreds of houses were damaged as trees fell on electric poles snapping the power supply. Power officials said power supply restoration by removing the trees may take time.
In Barishal, officials were yet to ascertain the agri and fisheries losses. "For now, I can assure that the paddy is not affected too much," local agriculture extension department Deputy Director Harun R Rashid told The Business Standard Tuesday.
The Business Standard Munshiganj, Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Bagerhat correspondents reported similar damages to houses, farmlands and road networks.
Airports back in business, ports resume operation
Air traffic resumed at Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and Barisal airports at 12pm on Tuesday after remaining suspended from Monday afternoon.
Chattogram's Shah Amanat International Airport Director Wing Commander Taslim Ahmed told TBS on Tuesday that airport operations were currently normal.
In preparation for the cyclone, light equipment was moved from the apron area of the three airports.
Loading and unloading of goods at Mongla Port also resumed on Tuesday morning after being suspended for around 24 hours.
Mongla Port Harbour Master Captain Mohammad Shaheen Majid told TBS that the port did not sustain any physical damage in the cyclone.
