Thousands living in the open as cyclone wreaks havoc in St. Martin
Thousands of people are living under the open sky on the 8 sq km Saint Martin, as the cyclone Mocha wreaked havoc on the coral island on Sunday, leaving more than 2,000 houses either damaged or destroyed.
It is learnt that more than 1,200 houses in Majhorpara, Konarpara, Galachipa, Dakshinpara, Paschimpara and Uttarpara were razed to the ground by the strong winds.
Sultan Ahmed lives on the west side of the shore along with his five-member family.
The strong winds blew away the corrugated-iron-sheet roof and fences of his house. His wife, Hazera Begum, 65, told Prothom Alo over phone on Monday morning that they are worried about their survival after losing the house in the cyclone.
She said, "The cyclone ripped through our houses. Many people are living under the open sky. They have no food to eat."
Imam Hossain, 45, another resident of Paschimpara under No. 1 ward of St. Martin union, said he rushed to the cyclone shelter with his family on Sunday morning.
When he returned in the evening, after the cyclone crossed the coast, he found his house had collapsed. He, accompanied by the five-member family, has been living under a tree since then.
Imam told Prothom Alo over phone that he didn't catch fish in the sea for the last two months. Besides, there is no work on the island for the last three months due to the absence of tourists. Now he is incapable of building a new house.
Rickshaw van puller Jalal Ahmed, 45, from Majhorpara echoed the same regrets as the cyclonic storm blew away his house made of bamboo, polythene and tarpaulin. Since then, he has been staying in the open with his four-member family.
He said, "There is nothing to cook as the local market is facing a crisis of fish and vegetables. Apart from this, [I] don’t have a penny in hand. So, [I] don’t know how my children will survive."
Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner (DC) Mohammad Shahin Imran told Prothom Alo on Monday morning that a list of affected residents is being prepared.
Now the vessel movement between Teknaf and St. Martin has remained suspended due to the rough sea. They will go to the affected island to hand over the relief once the situation will turn to normalcy, he added.
St. Martin union parishad chairman Mujibur Rahman told Prothom Alo that more than 2,000 houses were damaged badly as the cyclone ravaged the island for three hours, between 2:00pm and 5:00pm, on Sunday. Thousands of people are now residing in the open. Efforts are underway to distribute the relief among the affected families.
He said nearly 500 coconut trees of around 5,700 were uprooted in the storm.