Dhaka, May 27: At least 10 people were killed and millions were left without power as severe cyclone ‘Remal’ lashed the coasts of Bangladesh with devastating winds of up to 120 kph and storm surges, inundating hundreds of villages.
‘Remal’ weakened into a cyclonic storm on Monday morning, sustaining wind speeds of 80-90 kilometres per hour, following landfall around midnight of Sunday, the Met Department said.
The department said that the weather system, which lay 150 km northeast of Sagar Island at 5.30 am, brought torrential rain and moved northeastwards to weaken further into a cyclonic storm.
‘Remal’ is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal ahead of this year’s monsoon season, which runs from June to September. The cyclone was named Remal (meaning sand in Arabic) by Oman, according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region.
It lashed Bangladesh’s coastlines, levelling thousands of homesteads, smashing seawalls, and flooding scores of villages and towns along the southwestern shorelines.
Bangladesh’s junior minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibur Rahman, said that 10 people were killed in the official count so far, while the storm entirely damaged over 35 households and affected over 3.75 million people.
“At least 10 people were killed in the cyclone,” Rahman told reporters.
However, according to most media tally, the toll had reached 16, as details of the damage continued to be reported from coastlines.
The cyclone has been accompanied by gusty winds and heavy rains, impacting areas including Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Satkhira, and Chattogram.
Officials and journalists in coastal areas said that of those deceased, some drowned while others were crushed when their houses collapsed.
According to the Met Office, southwestern Patuakhali town was the worst hit by the severe storm. Wind speed there rose to 111 kilometres per hour, with tidal surges accompanying the storm, flooding and ravaging huge infrastructure, including thatched houses.
“The crashing waves virtually washed away everything as it proceeded through the area, particularly the Khepupara sub-district. . . it became extremely fierce for over half an hour from 1.30 am after the midnight,” a cyclone control room official in Patuakhali said.
One person was washed away in the town by a storm surge while returning home to bring his sister and aunt to a shelter.
Another person died in Satkhira after falling as he ran for cover during the storm.
Five people were killed in Barishal, Bhola and Chattogram, Dhaka-based Somoy TV reported.
In Mongla, a trawler sank, leaving two people, including a child, missing.
The cyclone-driven surges also breached a major town protection embankment on Manpura Island, inundating most parts of the island.
The Met Office said that after ravaging the southwestern coastlines, the “severe cyclone” weakened into a storm but continued to cause heavy downpours in most parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, which also suffered from electricity disruptions.
Power Minister officials said that nearly 3 million people in Bangladesh were without electricity. Residents claimed their cell phone services were inoperative as the devices could not be recharged.
The rural power authority has cut off electricity to 15 million people in coastal areas to minimise the damage from ‘Remal’, news portal BD News reported.
The power outages have lasted over 12 hours in some areas, but electricity workers are preparing to restore the connections once the storm subsides.
Biswanath Sikder, chief engineer (planning and operation) of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, said the storm was still ongoing as of 9:45 am in the coastal areas. (PTI)
