The coastal district Bagerhat has suffered extensive damage due to the rampage of Cyclone Remal. After a night of destruction, strong winds and rainfall continued until 11am on Monday. However, as the day progressed, the intensity of the wind decreased somewhat, but light to moderate rainfall persisted.
Meanwhile, the cyclone has damaged 45,000 houses in the district. Among these, 35,000 houses were partially damaged, and 10,000 houses were completely destroyed. Thousands of trees were uprooted. The district headquarters and all upazilas have been left without electricity as electric poles were uprooted. The low-lying areas of the district have been flooded with three to five feet of water.
Nearly 50,000 families in the district have become waterlogged. Extensive damage has been done to fish farms.
In the upazilas of Mongla, Rampal, Sharankhola, Morelganj, and Bagerhat sadar, about 3,500 shrimp farms and fish ponds have been washed away. According to the district fisheries office, this has caused a loss of Tk73 crore. Additionally, 1,581 hectares of cropland have been damaged. According to the Bangladesh Water Development board (BWDB) in Bagerhat, about 2km of embankments in Morelganj and Sharankhola have broken, flooding seven villages.
Bagerhat District Commissioner Md Khalid Hossain said: “Cyclone Remal caused the most damage in the upazilas of Sharankhola, Morelganj, and Mongla. Reports of houses being destroyed in these upazilas have been received. The exact extent of the damage will be known once the weather normalizes.
“However, on the previous night, nearly a hundred thousand people and several thousand livestock took shelter in 359 shelters in the district. No reports of casualties have been received in the district so far.”