Mahasen lashes Patuakhali, Bhola, Barguna in Bangladesh
Cyclone Mahasen made landfall at Kuakata in Patuakhali around 9:00am
Thursday, after journeying over 1,700 kilometres from its place of
origin in the Bay of Bengal. The full account of the destruction was not available immediately. But at least six people have died
in Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola districts as the slow-paced cyclonic
storm left a trail of destruction along its trajectory. Maintaining a 21kilometer per hour (kph) race for quite a few hours,
the cyclonic storm lashed Kuakata coast, a very popular tourist
destination, on its course to hit some more coastal districts. Mahasen, which developed into a cyclonic storm from an area of low
pressure over the southern Bay of Bengal in early May, later journeyed
towards Rangabali upazila, according to officials of local Met office. The cyclone later moved eastwards to Rangabali upazila of the district and Charfassion of Bhola, added the officials.
Meanwhile, talking to The Daily Star, Anisur Rahman, project
implementation officer of Charfassion Upazila Control Room, said the
cyclone lashed Char Kukri Mukri, a remote island of Bhola, around
10:00am creating havoc. After hitting Char Kukri Mukri, the cyclone struck Monpura upazila
around 12:30pm, according to the upazila control room sources. The cyclone was centred about 150 kilometers southwest of Chittagong
port, 140km southwest of Cox’s Bazar port and 140km south of Mongla port
at 11:00am, Shah Alam, director of BMD told reporters during a press
briefing at Met office Thursday morning. Kalapara upazila is the worst affected area in Patuakhali, said Amitabh Sarkar, deputy commissioner of the district.
CASUALTYA 75-year old man died as a sharp branch of tree pierced through his abdomen when he tumbled on it amid strong gusty wind in Dhaligournagar area of Lalmohan upazila of Bhola around 8:15am, reported our correspondent. Abdul Kashem was going to a shelter in the area, said Khandaker Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalmohan Police Station. Meanwhile, Parvez, 6, died on the spot as a tree fell on his head at Char Madraz area of Charfassion upazila in Bhola district, our Bhola correspondent reported. Syed Ali, 75, died when a tree collapsed on him at Ranipur village in Betagi upazila of Barguna around 3:30am. Meanwhile, Siraj Akand, 80, died when a roadside tree fall on him around 7:00am at Balaikathi village in Sadar upazila of Patuakhali on Thursday. He was going a shelter, said Amitabh Sarkar, deputy commissioner of Patuakhali. Six-year old Amir Hossain of Bokultoli village in the same upazila died on heart attack hearing a sound of thunder.
DESTRUCTION
According to witnesses, the whole structure of a tin-roofed
residential hotel was razed to the ground and two others were damaged as
the storm hit Kuakata with strong wind and heavy shower at 9:00am. None of the boarders was injured as all of them were shifted to nearby cyclone centres before the cyclone made landfall. Over 1,000 of kutcha houses in Kalapara, Golachipa, Dasmina and
Rangabali upazilas of the district have been destroyed so far, said
local Relief and Disaster Rehabilitation Department. More than thousand thatched houses were damaged and trees were
uprooted as the cyclone left a trail of destruction in Monpura upazila
of Bhola district. A number of trees were uprooted and tin-roofs of several houses were blown away in Barguna.
RAINFALL, FLOOD
Total 123 millimeter rainfall was recorded in Patuakhali district in 12 hours till 6:00am Thursday, it said. Coastal areas were remaining under five feet water around 10:00am when this report was filed.
DISRUPTION
Dhaka Meteorological Department (BMD) has lost communication with its
sub-station in Bhola after the cyclone hit the area, Shah Alam,
director of BMD told reporters during his briefing at 11:00am. Several mobile phone towers were uprooted, disrupting telecommunication network. There was no electricity in the seven upazilas of the district since
10:00pm Wednesday night. The district headquarters has been also facing
blackout since 7:00am Thursday. Power lines remained cut off in Barguna district since 2:30am early Thursday. Road communication of Barguna with the other parts of the country
came to a halt after the ferry and river vessel movement were suspended
in the area. Barisal also remain without power from 2:30am Thursday.
DANGER SIGNAL
The authorities have raised the danger level to seven, on a scale of 1
to 11, for Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar ports. Coastal districts of Cox’s
Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola, Barguna,
Patuakhali, Barisal and their offshore islands and chars (shoals) will
come under danger signal number seven. Meantime, maritime port of Mongla has been advised to keep hoisted danger signal number five. Pirojpur, Jhalkathi, Bagherhat, Khulna and Satkhira coastal districts
and their offshore islands and chars will come under the danger signal. According to the BMD bulletin, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali,
Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Barisal, Bhola, Pirojpur,
and their offshore islands and chars are likely to experience wind
speed up to 90-100kph in gusts or squalls with heavy to very falls
during the passage of the storm. Meantime, Jhalkathi, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore
islands and chars are likely to experience wind speed up to 80-90kph in
such gusts or squalls with heavy to very falls during the passage of the
storm. All fishing boats, trawlers and marine vessels over North Bay have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice.
TIDAL SURGE
Storm surge of 8-10 feet height above normal astronomical tide may
inundate the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar,
Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Barguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira
and their offshore islands and chars. Water Development Board of Barguna said the district inundated by
storm surge of 6-7 feet height, leaving the district town under three
feet water. Strong wind has been blowing heavily in Dhahigournagar area of
Lalmohan upazila in Bhola when this report was filed around 10:00am.
The storm surge washed away flood protection dams at north and south
points at Goyalkhali Bazar in Mujibnagar union of Charfassion upazila in
Bhola district, threatening three villages.
'Better prepare than risk disaster'
Disaster Management and Relief minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali expressed satisfaction on preparations taken ahead of cyclone ‘Mahasen’ and said it had helped cut down risk of a disaster. Ali told a press briefing on Thursday his ministry had already allotted Tk 100 million and 5,000 metric tonnes of rice to aid the victims of the cyclone.
A total of 19 helicopters, four aircrafts and 22 Bangladesh Navy vessels had been kept ready to handle the aftermath of the cyclone for rescue and relief operations, he said. “Helicoptors and aircrafts were meant for inaccessible areas,” the Minister said. Police, paramilitary Border Guard Battalion (BGB), Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, government officials and volunteer organisations were all working, he said. Earlier, danger signal ‘7’ was hoisted in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar areas with warning signal ‘5’ in Mongla. Fifteen coastal areas had 3,296 cyclone shelters to house people from vulnerable areas along the coasts. Victims will be provided with relief through local administration after the storm, Ali said.
The Minister provided details of people taken to cyclone shelters- 283,000 in 479 shelter homes of Chittagong, 197,577 in 279 houses of Cox’s Bazar, 24,500 in 244 houses of Noakhali, 4,000 in 73 houses of Feni, 4,643 in 15 houses of Lakkhipur, 40,250 in 196 houses of Khulna, 27,570 in 64 houses of Satkhira, 110,00 in 231 houses of Bagerhat, 3,250 in in 229 houses of Barisal, 60,700 in 128 homes of Pirozpur, 4,000 in 28 homes of Jhalkathi, 109,332 in 322 homes of Patuakhali, 64,500 in 324 shelters of Barguna, 29,300 in 460 houses of Bhola and 4,040 in 121 shelter homes of Chandpur.
Cyclone ‘Mahasen’ weakened on
impacting the Bangladesh coast on Thursday, as it breezed past the
Meghna estuary to cross Noakhali and Sitakunda in Chittagong on Thursday
afternoon. Bangladesh Meteorological Department Director
Mohammad Shah Alam told bdnews24.com that the cyclone was expected to
cross over to Myanmar in the next three to five hours. “We will consider lowering danger signal after the storm clears the coast,” he said. "It is weakening." From 6am-12noon, the storm sustained wind speed of 50 kilometres per hour, but later windspeeds fell to 25 kilometres per hour. “ While crossing Patuakhali, the storm lost much of its strength dissipated by gusty winds and rainfall.” He said the storm might pass away from Bangladesh by 9:00pm at night.
Source: The Daily star, bdnews24.com
