Stand by people affected by cyclone Midhili

Cyclone Midhili came and went, killing at least seven people and leaving a trail of devastation in the coastal districts of Bangladesh.

Among those who died, four were of the same family when the earthen wall of their house collapsed on them in Teknaf.

Two people died in Chattogram and one in Tangail when tree branches fell on them.

There was a time when Bangladesh was known to the outside world as a land of floods and cyclones, so to the people of Bangladesh especially the people who live near the sea, these kinds of cyclones and floods are common events.

Thanks to the accuracy of the weather forecast and construction of cyclone centres, deaths from the cyclones have become much less, but loss of people’s habitats and standing crops of farmers is yet to be minimised.

It is exactly here that the efforts for the post-cyclone recovery are very important.

As the cyclone Midhili made landfall, many trees were uprooted. It temporarily stopped the movement of vehicles, and destroyed crops and vegetables.

According to reports yesterday, many areas were without power, and school buildings were destroyed. Still, 300 fishermen from 20 trawlers were missing in Barguna’s Patharghata.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said that 75 per cent of the sapling in Patuakhali was damaged because of rains and strong winds.

Though the exact figures of destruction are yet to come by, according to a primary estimate, one lakh and eighty thousand hectares of saplings in Patuakhali have been affected. Vegetable fields have also been destroyed.

To help the affected people come back to normal life, especially the poor ones, the government’s relevant authorities including the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief as well as the DAE must now make a quick study of the damage and loss along the coastal region.

They need to extend help in cash and kind to those heavily affected by the cyclone.

The coastguard needs to find out the whereabouts of 300 fishermen who went missing from Barguna’s Patharghata upazila. Their families must be going through a very hard time now.

As they reportedly went to the deep sea to catch fish, no communication could be established with them by the Barguna District Fishing Trawler Owners Association.

It is a matter of hope that some of the trawlers carrying fishermen might have taken refuge in Sundarbans forest areas.