More than 50 villages have been inundated by tidal surges triggered by Cyclone Yaas in four unions of Khulna's Koyra upazila, making it the worst affected area in the region.
In the four unions of Koyra, embankments have been damaged at 11 places. Dams of the Bangladesh Water Development Board on Kopotakkho, Koyra and Shakberia rivers were also damaged due to high tidal waves, reports UNB.
The upazila administration has said that the losses in the four unions are estimated to be around Tk35 crore. This is because large tracts of farmland, fish and cattle have been swept away by tidal surges.
About Tk15 crore worth of fish has been lost in the impact of the cyclone.
More than 5,000 people rendered homeless are currently staying in shelters. Efforts are on to move the stranded in their homes to safer places, officials said.
Also read - Yaas: Bangladesh begins rehabilitation in cyclone-hit coastal areas
On Friday morning, thousands of locals volunteered to repair a damaged embankment in Mathbari village of Maharajpur union.
Locals from Mathbari and 10-15 other villages under the upazila took part in the work and repaired around 70ft of the damaged portion of the embankment with bamboos, clay, and cement sacks.
Meanwhile, in Satkhira, locals staged a protest Friday morning demanding a sustainable embankment in place of the embankment at Patakhali Point in Shyamnagar upazila after it recently collapsed.
Some members of the Mangrove Student Society, an organization of coastal students, participated in the event in shrouds to emulate the dead, while others held up placards containing their demand for sustainable embankments.
According to sources, more than 8,000km of embankments in the coastal areas are at risk. After Cyclone Sidr and Ayla hit the region in 2007 and 2009, many of these embankments collapsed. But, a large part of the damage is yet to be repaired permanently.
On Wednesday, 11 embankments were damaged due to which saline water of the rivers marooned 35 villages. Later, the residents managed to block only eight points. As a result, another 15 to 20 villages were inundated by Thursday afternoon.
Although the fear of the cyclone has subsided, people of the area are spending sleepless nights fearing an imminent collapse of nearby embankments.