The extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan inflicted heavy damage in the southwestern part of Bangladesh, destroying homes, felling trees and displacing thousands of people between Wednesday evening and the early hours of Thursday.
According to official sources, initial reports suggest a total of 26 districts of the country have been affected by the cyclonic storm. Of them, Satkhira, Khulna, Barguna, Patuakhali, and Bhola are considered to have been hit the worst.
Following the directives of the prime minister, all district and upazila officials have been instructed to work in coordination with the ministries and organisations concerned to assess the damage caused by Amphan and take rehabilitation measures accordingly.
In Khulna, the cyclonic storm totally or partially damaged 83,560 homes. The storm surge washed away several embankments in low-lying coastal areas between Wednesday evening and early Thursday.
At least 400,000 people under 68 unions have been affected in nine upazilas of the district, of which Koyra upazila was the worst hit, said district Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Md Azizul Haque Joarder.
Thousands of shrimp enclosures have been washed away, while numerous thatched houses, trees, electricity and telephone poles, dykes and croplands were damaged and many villages were submerged by the tidal surge of Amphan, he said.
“Fortunately, the harvesting of the Boro paddy was almost completed before the cyclone. So the damage to Boro paddy is comparatively low,” said Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Khulna Agriculturist Pankaj Kanti Majumdar.
Operations of Mongla port resumed on Thursday afternoon, said Md Makruzzaman, secretary of Mongla Port Authority (MPA).
A home in the aftermath of the extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan in Koyra upazila of Khulna on Thursday, May 21, 2020 | Dhaka Tribune
In Satkhira, numerous thatched homes, trees and roads were damaged and fish enclosures and croplands inundated in Shyamnagar, Assasuni and Sadar upazila as a result of the extremely severe cyclonic storm.
Local residents said the storm had ravaged through their homes, flooded their croplands and destroyed concrete structures.
In Bagerhat, saline water flooded the locality as embankments collapsed due to the strong winds brought about by cyclone Amphan.
Sarankhola Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sarder Mostafa Shahim said: “The whole upazila suffered a power outage while the unions were flooded with saline water.”
Bagerhat Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Kamrul Islam said: “Electricity connections in the district were cut off by cyclone Amphan and low-lying areas were inundated by tidal surges.”
Ahead of the disaster, a total of 268,000 people in the district were moved to shelters and at least 23,000 domestic animals were also moved to safety, he added.
Meanwhile, Barguna Deputy Commissioner Mostain Billah said: “We have formed 42 teams to assess the extent of the damage and assist Amphan-affected people. We will soon compile a final assessment of the total damage caused by cyclone Amphan in the district.”
Contacted, Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner Motiul Islam Chowdhury said: “Several embankments have collapsed in the district, causing great ordeal to the residents of Rangabali and Galachipa upazila. The croplands have been flooded with saline water from the Bay of Bengal. We are currently calculating the extent of the damage caused by the cyclone Amphan in the district.”
Mitigation strategies
The district administration, Port Authority, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG), Fire Service and Civil Defence are working to rehabilitate the affected people in the coastal areas.
The aftermath of Cyclone Amphan at Pirojpur district in Bangladesh | Dhaka TribuneAs part of an immediate response, at least 1.4 million people in the coastal areas of Bangladesh were successfully evacuated to cyclone shelters before Amphan hit the regions on Wednesday evening.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the authorities concerned to take prompt measures to provide money and relief materials to Amphan-affected people and reconstruct their houses.
She also gave directives on immediate provisions of support for the Amphan-hit people from Thursday, according to a media release issued by the Press Wing of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The work on calculating the overall damage caused to houses, embankments and roads by the cyclone while the distribution of relief materials and pure drinking water, and repairing the damaged power supply lines in the cyclone-hit areas started on Thursday morning.
“The prime minister has been monitoring the situation round the clock and giving necessary directives,” said PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah.
Meanwhile, volunteers of different organizations, including Red Crescent and CPP, are working in different regions, along with medical teams with health workers working in cyclone-affected regions.
