DHAKA (AP) — A cyclone swept across Bangladesh’s coast Tuesday (Oct. 25), killing at least nine people, destroying homes, uprooting trees and disrupting roads, power and communication 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 restored, they said.
The cyclone arrived from the Bay of Bengal early in the day with winds of up to 88 km/h and a typhoon storm surge of about 3 m that flooded low-lying coastal areas.
Power and telephone links were largely cut and coastal spaces were left in the dark, officials said.
Most of the dead were crushed by falling trees.
No primaries have been reported in refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar live in precarious shelters.
Authorities have asked some 33,000 Rohingya refugees who left camps on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal to stay home.
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.
South Asia has noticed an increase in extreme weather in recent years, causing 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 events like Cyclone Sitrang occur, communities are devastated. We urgently want to budget to help communities live the truth of the climate crisis. “
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