DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A cyclone hit the Bangladesh coast on Tuesday, Oct. 25, killing at least 15 people, destroying homes, uprooting trees and disrupting roads, power and communications links, he said.
Mass evacuations before Cyclone Sitrang made landfall on the West Coast stored lives, but the extent of casualties and damage will be known once communications are fully restored, they said.
“It was terrible. It looked like the sea was coming to catch us,” Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Bhola district, told Reuters after communications were restored in his neighbourhood.
“We had a sleepless night, all we can do is pray. “
The cyclone came from the Bay of Bengal with winds of up to 88 km/h (55 mph) and a typhoon surge of about 3 meters (10 feet) that flooded low-lying coastal areas.
Power and telephone links were largely cut and coastal spaces were left in the dark, officials said.
About 2,000 power poles were damaged, leaving another 8 million people without power, said Nasrul Hamid, deputy minister of power, energy and mineral resources.
“Efforts are underway to repair electrical power as soon as possible,” he told reporters.
Most of the dead were crushed by falling trees.
Some 10,000 homes, 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) of farmland and 1,000 fishing pens were ripped through by the cyclone, Deputy Crisis Control Minister Enamur Rahman told reporters.
South Asia has experienced extreme weather events in recent years that have caused large-scale damage. Environmentalists warn that climate change may lead to more disasters, especially in places like densely populated Bangladesh.
Farah Kabir, ActionAid’s country director in Bangladesh, said 2022 had seen climate emergencies such as floods and droughts “on a scale noted before”.
“The climate crisis is getting worse, and here in Bangladesh we see its ferocity,” he said.
“When extreme weather conditions like Cyclone Sitrang occur, communities are devastated. We urgently want access to the budget so that communities live the truth of the climate crisis.
No primary damage was reported in refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar were housed in makeshift shelters.
Authorities pleaded with some 32,000 Rohingya refugees who had left camps on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal to stay in their homes.
“We felt the force of the wind, but we were saved,” Rohingya refugee Mohammed Arman told Reuters by telephone.
Heavy rains fell on the streets of the capital, Dhaka, flooding and disturbances for travelers.
The cyclone also hit the Indian state of West Bengal. – Rappler. com