At least 29 people died in several districts across Bangladesh as the cyclone Sitrang crossed the coastal areas on Monday night leaving a trail of devastation.
The cyclone caused thunderstorm and downpour in coastal districts. Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive road has been damaged due to tidal waves, crops were damaged, mobile towers disrupted, and people’s sufferings know no bound.
Cyclone Sitrang lost strength and became a land depression and became defunct on Tuesday. The cyclone was accompanied by tides several feet higher than normal.
A trawler capsized due to cyclone near Mirsharai Economic Zone area. Eight workers in that trawler are missing. Till filing the story no deceased has been recovered yet. Rescue operations are underway.
The soil has subsided under the road due to the impact of the heavy tidal waves. Two parts of the Marine Drive in Shashman area of Baharchhara in Sabrang Union of Teknaf were damaged by waves.
Apart from this, Aman fields are damaged due to rain and gusty winds. Farmers fear massive loss of Aman and winter vegetables due to adverse weather conditions. Not only the crops but also the fish farmers have suffered huge losses.
The affected farmers said that there was heavy rain due to the impact of the cyclone. knee-deep water has accumulated in low-lying areas in many places. Ripe and semi-ripe boro rice is damaged heavily.
Cyclone Sitrang caused severe disruption in mobile networks in the southern part of the country as well. 4563 mobile network towers became inactive that disrupts SMS and internet services and voice call. On Tuesday (October 25) morning, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said that 684 of the 4,563 inactive towers had been activated till 6:00 p.m. the previous day and work is continuing to activate them.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr. Enamur Rahman in a post- cyclone press briefing said that the way Sitrang formed, the forecasts, the way it spread and the way it came straight towards Bangladesh, all predicted that there would be a lot of damage. But the damage was not that much against the prediction.
“10,000 houses in 419 unions were affected by the storm. 6,000 hectares of cropland has been damaged and 1,000 fish enclosures have been damaged. Several trees and electricity poles were uprooted in various places by the cyclone. Apart from the coastal districts, Cumilla, Gopalganj and even Dhaka have also been affected,” added the state minister.
More than 10 lakh people were brought to 6925 shelters across the country.
UNB adds: At least 25 people died in nine districts across Bangladesh as the cyclone Sitrang made landfall on Monday midnight.
According to reports from UNB correspondents from Chattogram. Cumilla, Narail, Sirajganj, Bhola, Barguna, Munshiganj, Noakhali and Gopalganj, most of the casualties happened because of falling of trees since Monday morning as Bangladesh experienced moderate to heavy rains throughout the day.
In Chattogram, bodies of eight workers, who went missing on Monday night after a dredger sank in the Bay of Bengal, were recovered from the sea off the coast of Mirsarai on Tuesday.
Five of the deceased were identified as Mahmud Molla, Alamin, Imam Molla, Abul Bashar and Tarek. They were residents of Patuakhali district.
The sand lifting dredger--Saikat-2--was anchored, with the eight workers on board, in the sea around 1000 feet away from the embankment in Bashundhara area of the upazila. But it sank when the storm triggered by Cyclone Sitrang intensified around 10 pm on Monday, said Md Kabir Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirsarai Police Station.
Mirsarai police and fire service divers recovered the bodies from the sunken dredger around 2pm on Tuesday, the OC added.
At Sitakunda in Chattogram, the body of a seven-month-old girl child was recovered from a shipyard in the Bay of Bengal near the Kadamarsul area on Tuesday morning, said Mahbub, sub-inspector (SI) of Kumira Naval Police.
The body of the child was swept into the shipyard by the strong tide of the sea, he added.
The body was later sent to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) morgue, the SI said.
In Munshiganj, a 28-year-old woman and her four-year-old daughter were killed when a huge tree collapsed on them while they were asleep on Monday night at Kanakshar village in Louhajang upazila of the district.
The deceased were identified as Asma Akter, wife of Abdur Razzak and Sumaiya Akter, said additional superintendent Munshiganj Police Yeasmin Ferdous.
Razzak was also injured during the incident. He was taken to Dhaka for better treatment.
In Noakhali, a one-year-old girl was killed and her mother was injured when a tree collapsed on them at Habibia village in Subarnachar upazila of the district early Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Sneha, daughter of Abdullah of the village.
Debopriyo Das, officer-in-charge of Charjabbar Police Station, said the tree collapsed on their house when Amena Begum, 25 and her daughter Sneha were sleeping around 3 am during the storm.
In Cumilla’s Nangalkot upazila, a couple and their four-year-old daughter died after a huge tree fell on their house at Hesakhal area on Monday night. They were asleep when it happened.
MD. Raihan Mehbub, Nangalkot Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), said police rushed to the scene after the incident took place killing Nizam Uddin , his wife Sharmin Akter Shathi and their daughter Nusrat Akter Liza.
The incident occurred around 10 pm when the wind speed was 60 kmph in Cumilla as the cyclone was making landfall, he said.
A 35-year-old woman--Morzina Begum--was first reported to be dead as a tree fell on her head at Lohagara upazila complex in Narail around 11 am on Monday.
Morzina hailing from Bagerhat used to work as a maid at Rajpur village in the upazila, said Md Nasir Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Lohagara Police Station.
During the incident her 11-year-old son was with her, but he survived, said the OC.
In Sirajganj sadar upazila, a mother and her son died as their boat sank in a canal of Jamuna River on Monday night.
The deceased were identified as Ayesha Siddka, 30, wife of Khokon Sheikh from Purbo Mohonpur village, and her son Arafat Rahman, 5, said Mosaddek Hossain, Officer-in-Charge of Bangabandhu Bridge West Police Station.
Ayesha’s husband and two other children were rescued from the scene of the accident, he said.
They were traveling home through the canal on a boat around 8 pm Monday when it capsized amid foul weather. Arafat died at the scene while Aysha was declared dead after being taken to a hospital, said the OC.
In Bhola, four people died at sadar, Doulatkhan, Lalmohan and Char Fasson being crushed under trees and from drowning.
The deceased were identified as Mofijul Islam, 60, from sadar upazila, Bibi Khadiza, 20, from Doulatkhan upazila, Rabeya, 30, from Lalmohan upazila, and Monir, 30 from Char Fasson upazila, said Delwar Hossain, District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer.
Mofizul died after a tree fell on his house on Monday night at Dhania union in sadar upazila and Bibi Khadiza also died being crushed under a tree. Monir was on a motorcycle when a tree branch fell, leaving him dead on the spot while Rabeya drowned.
In Barguna sadar upazila a 110-year-old woman died while having dinner as a tree fell on her house at Sonakhali village.
She was alone in the house and died instantly, said Humayun Kabir, local Union Parishad Chairman.
In Gopalganj district two women were crushed under trees at Tungipara upazila.
The deceased were Sharmin,25, wife of Rezaul from Patgati union and Rumisa, 65, wife of Hanna Talukder from Banshbaria union.
Sharmin died on Monday night as a tree fell on her at Panchkahania village during storm while Rumisa got crushed under a tree at her home at Dumuria village, said Minhazur Rahman, District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer.
He said their families will get Tk 25,000 as assistance, Tk 6000 for rehabilitation and CI sheet.
