Cyclone hits Bangladesh and nearly a million people flee inland in search of shelter May 26, 2024

Around 4,000 cyclone shelters have been prepared along the country's long coastline in the Bay of Bengal (Munir UZ ZAMAN)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Cyclone hits Bangladesh and nearly a million people flee inland in search of shelter

An intense cyclone hit Bangladesh's low-lying coast on Sunday, with nearly a million people fleeing inland in search of concrete storm shelters away from the howling winds and waves.

“Severe Cyclone Remal has started crossing the coast of Bangladesh,” Bangladesh Meteorological Department director Azizur Rahman told AFP, adding that the raging storm could continue to hit the coast at least until the early hours of Monday morning.

“So far, we have recorded maximum wind speeds of 90 kilometers per hour, but the wind speed could increase further.”

Forecasters have predicted gusts of up to 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour, with heavy rains and winds also hitting neighboring India.

The authorities have raised the danger signal to its highest level.

In recent decades, cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh, but the number of superstorms hitting its densely populated coast has risen sharply, from one a year to up to three, due to the impact of climate change.

“The cyclone can trigger a storm surge of up to 4 meters above the normal astronomical tide, which can be dangerous,” Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik, Bangladesh's senior meteorological officer, told AFP.

Most of Bangladesh's coastal areas are one or two meters above sea level and high storm surges can devastate villages.

“We are terrified,” said 35-year-old fisherman Yusuf Fakir in Kuakata, a town in the far south of Bangladesh on the storm's predicted path, speaking shortly before its arrival.

Although he had sent his wife and children to a relative's house in the interior of the country, he remained there to store his belongings.

At least 800,000 Bangladeshis have fled their coastal villages, while more than 50,000 people in India have also moved inland from the vast mangrove forest of the Sundarbans, where the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers meet the sea, government ministers and disaster officials said.

“We want to ensure that no life is lost,” said Bankim Chandra Hazra, senior minister of West Bengal state in India.

- Ferry sinks -

As people fled, Bangladesh police said a heavily laden ferry carrying more than 50 passengers - twice its capacity - was swamped and sank near Mongla, a port in the storm's expected path.

“At least 13 people were injured and have been taken to a hospital,” local police chief Mushfiqur Rahman Tushar told AFP, adding that other boats have taken the passengers to safety.

A young man drowned in rough seas in Kuakata on Sunday afternoon, district government administrator Nur Kutubul Alam told AFP.

Bangladesh's disaster management secretary Kamrul Hasan said people had been ordered to leave “unsafe and vulnerable” homes.

“At least 800,000 people have been moved to cyclone shelters,” Hasan said.

Authorities mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers to warn people of the danger, but local officials said many people stayed at home because they feared their possessions would be stolen if they went out.

He said around 4,000 cyclone shelters had been prepared along the country's long coastline in the Bay of Bengal.

- Airports closed

As well as villagers and fishermen, many of the multi-story centers have space to house cattle, buffaloes, and goats, as well as pets.

On the low-lying island of Bhashan Char, which is home to 36,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, 57 cyclone centers have been opened, deputy refugee commissioner Mohammad Rafiqul Haque told AFP.

The country's three seaports and the airport of the second-largest city, Chittagong, have been closed, according to the authorities.

Kolkata airport in India closed on Sunday, while the Indian navy prepared two ships with aid and medical supplies for “immediate deployment”.

Although scientists say climate change is fueling more storms, better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have drastically reduced the death toll.

In the Great Cyclone Bhola in November 1970, an estimated half a million people died, most of them drowned by the storm.

In May last year, Cyclone Mocha became the most powerful storm to hit Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in November 2007.

Sidr killed more than 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Last October, at least two people died and around 300,000 fled their homes to storm shelters when Cyclone Hamoon hit the southeast coast of the country.

By Mohammad MAZED

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