At least seven persons died as Cyclone Yaas triggered storms and floods in 27 upazilas of nine coastal districts in Bangladesh, authorities said.
Reports coming from coastal areas said that the storms damaged dozens of houses, inundated low-lying areas, and snapped road communication in some areas.
A 48-year-old man was killed as a tree branch fell on him during a storm triggered by cyclone Yaas in Lalmohan in Bhola around 9:00pm Tuesday, said Maksudur Rahman, the officer in-charge of Lalmohan police station.
A four-year-old girl died after drowning near her house in Morrelganj of Bagerhat. Morrelganj Upazila Nirbahi officer Delwar Hossain said the girl died falling into an overflowing drain.
Wahiduzzaman, deputy commissioner of Feni, said they recovered the body of a fisherman on Tuesday evening. “He was fishing in Feni river with two others. Their boat overturned due to strong wind. Two people could swim ashore and one died,” he said.
In Barishal, Bakerganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Madhabi Roy said, two children, aged 16 years and a two-and-half-year respectively, drowned as storm surge hit the area.
“We had only flooding here, no damages of houses or trees, no one died or injured due to wind. One child drowned in a pond and the other washed away by the tidal surge,” she said.
Two children drowned in the Rajapur area under Jhalakathi district in a storm surge, Deputy Commissioner Zohar Ali confirmed to The Business Post.
Residents of coastal areas experienced light rains or drizzles since Tuesday night with winds in gusts and squalls as administration opened about 1,000 cyclone shelters in different districts.
Twelve crew members were rescued after a lighter ship capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday in the rough sea near Bhasanchar due to the impact of Cyclone Yaas.
Squadron Leader Saiful Alom of Bangladesh Air Force, in charge of the rescue operations, confirmed about the development, reports UNB.
“Two rescue helicopters reached the spot within a very short time from Patenga Air Force Base and rescued 12 crew members who were floating in the middle of the sea,” he said.
State minister for relief and deserter management Md Enamur Rahman at a briefing at the ministry on Wednesday said that at least 27 upazilas along the coast in nine districts were affected.
The state minister disclosed the information at a press conference on the overall cyclone situation at the ministry.
Saying that Bangladesh was not severely affected by the cyclone, the minister mentioned that the cyclone hit parts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur.
Reports of damage from strong tides were received from Shymnagar, Ashasuni, Koyra, Dakop, Paikgachha, Sarankhola, Mongla, Morrelganj, Mathbaria, Barguna Sadar, Patharghata, Amtali, Patuakhali Sadar, Galachipa, Rangabali, Dasmina, Mirzaganj, Kalapara, Charfassion, Manpura, Tajumuddin, Daulatkhan, Borhanuddin, Bhola Sadar, Hatiya, Ramgati and Kamalnagar.
Sustainable embankment instalment and complete disaster management would be ensured in all coastal areas by 2031, he said.
“We got a primary list of damages. we will prepare the complete list of damages soon once we get the reports from field,” he said
The state minister said in Patuakhali some 14,000 people came to different shelters on Tuesday night, but they returned to home in the morning. In Satkhira, 280 people took shelters at night but they also returned home in the morning as cyclone spared the area.
In Jhalakati, 497 people came to government shelters. In Bagerhat, tidal surge inundated 20 villages, affecting 2,700 people. In Bhola, authorities had opened 691 shelters, where 2,000 people took shelters. About 900 cattle were washed away by tidal surge, said the state minister in the press conference.
Meanwhile, agencies reported five people were killed on Wednesday after cyclonic storm Yaas made landfall West Bengal and Odisha coast of India.
The cyclone made landfall with marginally lower intensity with a wind speed of 130-140 kmph.
India Meteorological Department said that the cyclone had completed landfall and was moving north-northwestwards and weakened.
The high tidal waves breached embankments in West Bengal and Odisha coast, with a total of five deaths.
In West Bengal, a youth who had moved to a cyclone shelter in the locality had come out of the shelter in Ramnagar 2 block of East Midnapore when the storm hit and he was drowned.
Two other people were killed in the coastal town of Digha in West Bengal, with one of them dying in a building collapse and another dragged out to sea, the state's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
In Odisha, two deaths occurred.
