The coastal areas of Bangladesh experienced drizzles, strong winds and tidal surges from Wednesday morning, but there was no news of any major devastation after Cyclone Yaas made landfall in India’s Odisha.
The high tides caused some damage in coastal districts, and one death was reported in Lalmohan upazila of Bhola district when a man was killed by a branch of a tree that fell in the storm.
Furthermore, a four-year-old child drowned in the tidal water in Morrelganj upazila of Bagerhat, reports UNB.
At least 5,000 families in Sarankhola, Morrelganj and Mongla upazilas of Bagerhat have been stranded as the water level in the rivers adjacent to these places has gone up due to the cyclone.
Three people were injured and around 50 houses damaged in a storm at Armukhi village in Jhenaidah Sadar upazila on Tuesday night, before Cyclone Yaas made landfall.
Also read- Cyclone Yaas: 2 reported dead in Bangladesh
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) said it had rescued 12 people after a trawler capsized in the rough sea near Bhashar Char in Noakhali. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the development, adding that an AW-139 search and rescue helicopter of BAF was used to airlift the victims from the Bay of Bengal.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief said a total of 27 upazilas under nine coastal districts - Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali and Laxmipur - had been affected by tidal surges due to the cyclone.
At a press briefing, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mohammad Enamur Rahman said the ministry had received information from 14 coastal districts after the cyclone.
In Satkhira, tidal water was 3-6 feet high and had overwhelmed embankments at certain points. Only 280 people went to the cyclone shelter and returned to their homes in the morning.
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In Patuakhali, 14,000 people went to cyclone shelters. In Barguna, some lowlands were flooded and embankments were damaged.
In Jhalakathi district, however, rivers were flowing above the danger line.
In Bhola, a number of houses were destroyed and crop fields damaged. Over 2,000 people had moved to the cyclone shelters, according to the ministry.
Some low-lying coastal areas of Khulna and Barisal divisions were inundated due to the high tide in the sea under the influence of the cyclonic storm Yaas and the full moon.
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Locals said the embankments overflowed and broke at different places, including Kamanibasia, Pankhali and near Marine Company under Dakop upazila in Khulna.
The water is likely to start receding from the areas from Thursday morning.
Koyra Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Animesh Biswas said water entered the locality by breaching and overflowing the embankments at multiple places in the upazila. However, it was not yet possible to give an exact figure of how many villages had been flooded.
The authorities concerned, along with the local people and volunteers, were conducting repair work, he added.
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Senior Meteorologist of Khulna regional Met Office Amirul Azad said low-lying areas were likely to be inundated by tidal surges of 3-4 feet high due to the full moon phase and rainfall caused by cyclone Yaas.
If the tidal surges go up to 8-10 feet above the normal astronomical tide, then it will be difficult to save the embankments, he added.
Locals said embankments had overflowed and were breached at different places, including Kamanibasia, Pankhali and near Marine Company under Dakop upazila in the district, and they feared damage to crops due to the salt water.
State Minister Enamur Rahman said that deputy commissioners, upazila executive officers, local people's representatives and volunteers had been monitoring the situation round the clock and taking action as required.
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He said that adequate food items and funds had been allocated in favor of the deputy commissioners to provide overall assistance in dealing with any disaster.
The junior minister said: “In the districts where the dams have broken, the dams are being repaired under the supervision of the Ministry of Water Resources.”
Our Khulna correspondent Hedait Hossain Molla contributed to this report
