So far we have recorded maximum wind speeds of 90 km/h, experts said.
Dhaka:
An intense cyclone hit low-lying Bangladesh on Sunday, with nearly a million people fleeing inland for concrete storm shelters, away from howling gales and pounding waves.
“Severe cyclone Remal has started to cross the coast of Bangladesh,” Bangladesh Meteorological Department director Azizur Rahman told AFP, adding that the violent storm could continue to make landfall at least until the early hours of Monday morning. fair.
“So far we have recorded maximum wind speeds of 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour, but wind speeds may increase.”
Forecasters predicted gusts of up to 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour, with heavy rain and winds also hitting neighboring India.
Authorities raised the danger signal to its highest level.
Cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh in recent decades, but the number of superstorms hitting its densely populated coast has risen sharply, from one a year to three, due to the impact of climate change.
“The cyclone could trigger a storm surge of up to 12 feet (four meters) above the normal astronomical tide, which could be dangerous,” Bangladesh’s top meteorological official, Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik, told AFP.
Most of Bangladesh’s coastal areas are one or two meters above sea level and strong storms can devastate villages.
“We are terrified,” said fisherman Yusuf Fakir, 35, in Kuakata, a town in the far south of Bangladesh in the storm’s predicted path, speaking shortly before its arrival.
Although he sent his wife and children to a relative’s house in the countryside, he stayed put 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 said. government and disaster responders.
“We want to ensure that not a single life is lost,” said West Bengal minister Bankim Chandra Hazra.
– Ferries sink –
As people fled, Bangladeshi police said a heavily loaded ferry carrying more than 50 passengers – twice its capacity – was flooded and sank near Mongla, a port in the storm’s expected path.
“At least 13 people were injured and taken to a hospital,” local police chief Mushfiqur Rahman Tushar told AFP, adding that other boats took 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 authorities 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 have been prepared along the country’s long coastline in the Bay of Bengal.
– Airports closed –
In addition to residents 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, 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 in the second-largest city of Chittagong were closed, officials said.
Kolkata airport closed on Sunday as 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 Bhola Cyclone in November 1970, around half a million people died – most drowned in 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 nearly 300,000 fled their homes for storm shelters when Cyclone Hamoon hit the country’s southeast coast.
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