Cyclone Remal leaves trail of destruction in coastal region

Cyclone Remal has left a trail of destruction in the coastal regions of the country. At least 10 died in the cyclone, most of them killed by falling trees and wall collapses.

The storm has destroyed 150,000 houses and village after village was submerged after the embankment broke, fish enclosures have been swept away, road communication has been snapped at some places, saline water intruded due to collapse of embankments leading to depletion of fresh water sources.

State minister for disaster management and relief Mohibbur Rahman said in a press conference at the secretariat on Monday afternoon that 10 people died in Khulna, Satkhira, Barishal, Patuakhali, Bhola and Chattogram due to Cyclone Rimal. Among them, three each died in Barishal and Bhola and one each died in Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali and Chattogram districts.

Power outages have affected vast areas as transmission lines were damaged, leaving millions without electricity. However, power restoration efforts are underway, with restoration of power connection in some areas, though approximately 275 million people still remain without power. This information was disclosed by the ministry of power, energy, and mineral resources in a press release last evening.

Cell phone networks are also down in many locations. The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) reported that 15,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), commonly known as mobile towers, were out of service as of yesterday. Efforts are being made to restore these services.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) reported that 22,218 websites were inactive across 64 districts as of 4:00pm yesterday. This means that nearly 49 per cent of the total websites in the country are currently inactive.

The state minister for disaster management and relief said over 3.7 million people of 107 upazilas in 19 districts were affected in the cyclone Remal. A total of 35,483 houses were completely damaged and 114,992 houses were partially damaged in the cyclone hit areas.

Nineteen districts have been affected during the storm, he said. These are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jhalakathi, Barishal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola, Feni, Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Narail, Gopalganj, Shariatpur and Jashore.

The cyclone made landfall at around 8:00pm through the West Bengal coast at the southwest of Mongla and Bangladesh’s Khepupara coast. Highest wind speed of 111 kph was recorded in Patuakhali’s Khepupara.

The state minister said Tk 68.5 million has been allocated to the affected people. Tk 38.5 million, 5,500 tonnes of rice, 5,000 dry foods, Tk 15 million for baby food and Tk 15 million for fodder have been distributed in 15 districts.

In Khulna’s Paikgacha, the river embankment has broken in at least 20 places across six unions, flooding over 50 villages with salty sea water and trapping about 100,000 people. Sources of drinking water have been contaminated.

Reports from public representatives, local residents, and upazila administration indicate that villages in Lata, Soladana, Garaikhali, Chandkhali, Deluti, and Raruli unions were inundated due to the dam breaches. Many houses were destroyed, and trees were uprooted.

In Kumkhali village of Garaikhali union, the Shibsa river dam, which had been vulnerable for a long time, has collapsed, flooding more than 20 villages in Garaikhali and Chandkhali unions. In the district’s Dakop, water has entered the locality as the Water Development Board (WDB) dam broke.

On Sunday midnight, the Shibsa and Dhaki river dams in the upazila broke, submerging parts of Kaminibasia village in Tildanga union.

Residents attempted to stem the water flow with sandbags at night, but by early Monday, the Kapotakkha river dam in Maharajpur union of Koira upazila and the Koira river dam in Maheshwaripur union gave way to tidal pressure, further flooding the area.

In Bagerhat, several thousand fish enclosures were washed away. District fisheries officer ASM Russell said that about 22,000 fish enclosures were reported to have been swept away, with Mongla, Morelganj, Sharankhola, and Rampal upazilas being the worst affected.

In Patuakhali, the cyclone breached an embankment. The connecting road in Suhri area of Amkhola union on the Patuakhali-Galachipa road has been closed since yesterday morning. Fallen trees have blocked the Patuakhali-Mirzaganj road.

The cyclone Remal hit Kuakata sea beach hard as the 18 km long beach was submerged until 8:00pm yesterday, said Kuakata pourashava mayor Anwar Howladar.

In Satkhira’s Shyamnagar, several cracks have appeared in the WDB embankment. Heavy rains and gusts of wind have caused mud houses to collapse. Some shrimp enclosures were also washed away.

In Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali pourashava, Kutubjom, and Matarbari unions, low –lying areas were inundated as embankments broke and several hundred mud houses were damaged. Matarbari road communication is currently closed.

The cyclone has caused extensive damage to homes and crops. The upazila administration has reported that nearly 52,000 families in Noakhali’s Hatia have been affected.

Hatia’s upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Shuvashish Chakma told Prothom Alo that the cyclone has affected 52,000 families in Hatia, with Nijhum Dwip being the hardest hit. Most of the mud houses there have been damaged, and the entire island has been submerged under four to five feet of tidal water.

Subarnachar’s UNO Al Amin Sarkar said that fallen trees have created obstacles for road communication. Fire service men are clearing the roads to restore communication.

In Bagerhat, at least 10,000 houses have been destroyed, and another 35,000 houses have been partially damaged, according to information from the district administration yesterday.

In Patuakhali’s Kalapara, five villages, including Jalalpur, Christian Palli, West Hajipur, Nabipur, and Fatehpur, have been flooded. Around midnight on Sunday, tidal waters overflowed the flood control embankment adjacent to Jalalpur village, inundating the area. Water has also entered the locality by overtopping the flood control embankments in Goiatala and Nichkata areas of the same union.

In Jhalakathi, more than 200 trees have been uprooted. Village after village has been flooded by tidal waters, trapping residents in over a hundred villages.

Sultan Hossain, a resident of the pourashava’s ferry ghat area, said yesterday afternoon, “My house is submerged. We went to a shelter center at night. When we returned in the morning, we found all our belongings underwater. The water hasn’t receded yet.”

Since Sunday night, heavy rains have flooded various areas in Khulna city, including Mujgunni, Lobonchara, Mollapara, Tutpara, Mohirbari Khalpar, Shipyard Road, Chan Mari Bazar, and Rupsa.

The powerful Cyclone Remal has killed at least 10 people in Khulna, Satkhira, Barisal, Patuakhali, Bhola, and Chattogram.

In the Kolabagan area of Bayezid police station in Chattogram city, a passerby named Saiful Islam died yesterday morning at 8:00am when an under-construction wall collapsed. Md Kamruzzaman, senior station officer of Bayezid fire service and civil defence, confirmed the death.

In Bhola’s Lalmohon upazila an unidentified elderly person died in a house collapse during the cyclone. Bhola’s relief officer Md Delwar Hossain said, “We received the news of death of one person in house collapse in Lalmohon upazila.”

In Khulna’s Batiaghata uapzila, a youth named Lalchand Moral, 36, died as a tree fell on his house at Goriardanga village under Surkhali union in the uapzila during the cyclone.

Several hundred ponds and fish enclosures were submerged in Patuakhali’s Kolapara upazila. Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners’ Association’s general secretary Motaleb Sharif said infrastructure and furniture in the hotels of the tourist destination saw extensive damage.

Around a thousand houses were damaged at Kauarchar and Chargongamoti villages under Dhulasar union in Kuakata.

(This report was compiled with inputs of staff correspondents and correspondents of Prothom Alo in respective areas)