Tidal surge, triggered by Cyclone Yaas, has flooded the coastal villages and damaged a number of embankments in the low-lying areas of Koyra, Dakope and Paikgachcha upazilas of Khulna on Wednesday.
Many villages of these areas have been inundated due to the intrusion of saltwater, putting the houses, croplands and fisheries under tremendous threat.
The saltwater entered the locality when the tidal water started rising and eventually overflowed the dam around 11am on Wednesday. Later, when the river became turbulent, the weak embankments started rupturing in different parts.
The authorities concerned, together with the local people and volunteers, are carrying out repair works on the damaged sites.
However, if the tidal surges go up to 8-10 feet above the normal astronomical tide, it will be difficult to save the embankments, according to officials.
Koyra Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Animesh Biswas said that salty water had entered the locality breaking and overflowing the embankments at multiple places in the upazila. “It is not possible to give an exact figure of how many villages have been flooded as of now.”
Residents of the coastal upazilas have been experiencing light rain or drizzles since Wednesday morning.
The local Met Office recorded 21mm of rainfall in the past two days in the district, reports UNB.
Senior Meteorologist of Khulna regional Met Office Amirul Azad said that the low-lying areas were likely to be inundated by the tidal surges of 3-4 feet high due to the full moon phase and the rainfall caused by Cyclone Yaas.
The local administration has opened 1,048 cyclone shelters in nine upazilas, according to Mohammad Azizul Haque Zoardar, the district relief, disaster and rehabilitation officer, reports UNB.
Besides these, 724 schools, colleges and madrasas will be turned into shelter centres, if needed, as those have the capacity to accommodate around 400,000 people.
As many as 116 medical teams are working in the district.
