35 dead as cyclone Sitrang batters Bangladesh

Staff Reporter :
At least 35 people were killed in 16 districts due to the impact of cyclone Sitrang.
Of them, eight were killed in Chattogram, five in Bhola, three in Cumilla, two each in Sirajganj, Brahmanbaria, Munshiganj and Gopalganj and one each in Dhaka, Shariatpur, Barguna, Khulna, Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Patuakhali, Gazipur and Narail districts.
The cyclonic storm Sitrang over the northwest and adjoining the central Bay of Bengal crossed the Barishal-Chattogram coast near Bhola around midnight on Monday, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph.
Slamming into Bangladesh coast, the storm weakened rapidly into a depression by giving precipitation, the weather department said in its latest bulletin on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, sitrang is heading towards India’s Meghalaya-Tripura through Brahmanbaria-Sylhet region.
The maritime ports of Mongla, Payra, and Chattogram have been advised to lower danger signal number 7 and hoist local cautionary signal number 3 instead.
Meanwhile, the maritime port of Cox’s Bazar has been advised to lower danger signal number 6 and hoist local cautionary signal number 3.
Under the influence of new moon phase and steep pressure gradient the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Jhalakathi, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barisal, Lakshmipur, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, Chattogram, Cox’s bazar and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by the wind driven surge height of 3-5 feet above normal astronomical tide.
The State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, Dr Md Enamur Rahman, on Tuesday briefed journalists during a post-cyclone press conference and informed that the cyclonic storm had damaged 6000 hectors of croplands, 1,000 fishing ghers (enclosures) and around 10,000 houses at 419 unions of the country.
Nine people got killed due to fall of trees on houses, he added.
Each of the deceased families would be given Tk 25,000, and interest-free loans will also be given to affected fishermen, the State Minister said.
Dr Enamur Rahman said, “Bangladesh is likely to face another cyclone in December. We are taking preparation for facing it following the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s direction.”
However, the State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said efforts were underway to restore electricity supply for the 80 lakh people who had been left with no electricity as Sitrang damaged electricity infrastructure.
There is a total of 4.80 crore consumers of electricity in the country, of them about 80 lakh are now facing load-shedding, he added.
He, however, said that the hospitals and other essential establishments would be given priority.
Around 2,000 electric poles, including 800 poles of the Rural Electrification Board, were damaged by the cyclone, he added.
The forefront of cyclone Sitrang hit Bangladesh’s coastline on Monday evening, triggering tidal surges in the coastal districts of Barguna, Bagerhat, Noakhali, Bhola, Barishal and Cox’s Bazar. These districts’ vast low-lying areas are still under water.
In Cox’s Bazar, 6,500 houses in 47 unions were damaged and 2 lakh people were affected by the impact of Sitrang, said the district Deputy Commissioner Zahid Iqbal.
The department concerned was still working to assess the overall damage, he added.
According to primary sources, the DC said, Cox’s Bazar coastal areas were inundated with 6-7 feet high tidal surges induced by the cyclone.
Besides, the road links in the island upazila Maheshkhali remained snapped due to the storm, said Matarbari Union Parishad Chairman Abu Haider.
Some people still remained marooned in Dhalghata union of Maheshkhali and Kutubdia upazilas, the chairman added.
In addition, Marine Drive road was damaged at two points.
The Faridpur Agriculture Department has started the work of assessing the damage to the crops including vegetables in Faridpur.
Meanwhile, houses have collapsed in many places of the district and there has been extensive damage to trees.
In Khulna our correspondent reported that about 1,600 houses were damaged. Heavy rains and winds damaged Aman paddy in some areas, confirmed Khulna District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Ranjit Kumar Sarkar.
In Patenga, thousands of people were living under the open sky after more than 300 houses were damaged by Sitrang.
The cyclone damaged hundreds of houses, Aman paddy fields and other winter crops in Lakshmipur.
Kamalnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Kamruzzaman said some 240 buffaloes and eight cows were washed away from various locations along the Meghna River.
Besides, the majority of the district experienced power outages for hours.
Lakshmipur’s Palli Bidyut Samity (PBS) General Manager Zakir Hossain said 365 electric poles were damaged in the cyclone severing some 450 connections in the district.
In Satkhira, 410 hectares of paddy fields were destroyed as a result of heavy rain and strong winds.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), in Satkhira, 31 hectares of mustard fields, 128 hectares of vegetables and 410 hectares of paddy were damaged.
In Cumilla, Sitrang affected 652 hectares of cropland, including 367 hectares of paddy fields and 285 hectares of vegetable lands, according to the district agriculture office.
Although the power connection was snapped for a long time, electricity started to be restored in the city on Tuesday.
In Brahmanbaria, two people died during Monday’s storm. The deceased were Zainal Abedin Bhuiyan, 27, of Dhwajnagar village in Kasba upazila and Ripon Mia, 28, of Noagaon union of Sarail upazila.
A tree fell on Joynal’s house around 12am killing him dead on the spot while his wife Nipa Akhter sustained injuries.
In another incident, Lineman Ripon Mia fell into the water along with an electric pole while repairing it. Doctors declared him dead after having been taken to the Zila Sadar hospital.
Two people were killed in Kasba and Nabinagar upazilas of Brahmanbaria under the influence of cyclone Sitrang, Upazila Nirbahi Officers of the two districts told reporters.
Two others were killed as a tree fell on them during the storm in Munshiganj while a child died after being hit by a tree in Noakhali.
Quoting Mosaddek Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bangabandhu Bridge West Police Station in Sirajganj, our Pabna correspondent reported that Ayesha Siddika (30) and her son Arafat (3) drowned in a canal in Mohanpur area around 8pm on Monday.
Bhola district superintendent of police, Saiful Islam, said that four people were killed in separate incidents in Sadar, Daulatkhan and Lalmohoin upazilas in his district as trees collapsed on them while another man died as he was washed away in the river.
Cumilla deputy commissioner Quamrul Hasan said that a couple and their minor child were killed in Nangalkoat upazila as a tree collapsed on their thatched house.
In Dhaka, a rickshaw puller was killed at Hazaribagh while a wall collapsed on him during heavy rain due to cyclone Sitrang, said Hazaribagh police sub-inspector Ziaur Rahman.
Shariatpur deputy commissioner, Parvez Hasan, said that one person was killed in Jajira on Monday night.
Narail deputy commissioner Habibur Rahman said that one was killed in his district due to cyclone Sitrang.
One was killed in Barguna and the death was confirmed by Farhana Yasmin, district relief and rehabilitation officer, Barguna.
In Gopalganj, two women – Sharmin Begum, 25, of Pach Kahonia village and Ramecha Begum, 65, a resident of Bashbaria village of Tungipara upazila – died after trees fell on them in their villages on Monday night during the storm, said the Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Al-Mamun.
In Cox’s Bazar’s Tenaf area, two people had died during the cyclone. Of them, a Myanmar national Shouming, 71, died while carrying goods to Teknaf from Myanmar. He died by falling from the deck of the port.
Meanwhile, Sohena, 9, daughter of Zafar Alam of Jaliarpara died drowning in the nearby pond during the cyclone.
In Patuakhali’s Protappur boat ghat, trawler worker Nurul Islam, 45, drowned during the cyclone. The divers of Fire Service recovered his dead body from the Lohalia river on Tuesday.
In Gazipur’s Kapasia, Anisur Rahman, 9, died by falling their mud-made house on him during the cyclone.