DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A cyclone hit the Bangladesh coast Tuesday, killing at least nine people, destroying homes, uprooting trees and disrupting roads, power grids and communications, he said.
“It was terrible, it seemed that the sea was coming to catch us,” Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Bhola district, told Reuters after communications were restored in his neighbourhood.
The cyclone arrived from the Bay of Bengal with winds of up to 88 km/h (55 mph) and a typhoon storm surge of about 3 m (10 ft) that flooded low-lying coastal areas.
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 32,000 Rohingya refugees who left camps on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal to stay home.
“We felt the force of the wind, but we were saved,” Rohingya refugee Mohammed Arman told Reuters by telephone.
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 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.
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