Cyclone Remal: At least 16 killed in Bangladesh and India

At least 16 people have died as a result of a cyclone’s collision with southeastern Bangladesh and southern areas of India.

Low-lying places were flooded as a result of strong gales of 110 km/h, heavy rain, and tidal surges that affected the area.

On Sunday night, Cyclone Remal made landfall, causing evacuation of almost a million people.

According to local officials, about 8.4 million folks lived in the cyclone’s journey, including 3.6 million children.

On Sunday, the wind weakened in the Sagar Islands of West Bengal, India, and the Bangladeshi harbor of Mongla.

Mohibbur Rahman, the minister for devastation in Bangladesh, reported to AFP news agency that at least 10 people had died in the storm. Some people perished drowning, while others perished when their homes collapsed.

” A full of 3.75 million people have been affected… 35, 483 homes were destroyed by the storm, and another 115, 992 houses were damaged”, Mr Rahman said.

In neighbouring India, Sumit Gupta, a senior official in the West Bengal state state, confirmed the deaths of at least six citizens, including three who had been electrocuted.

The storm damaged power lines, uprooted branches, and destroyed thousands of homes. Some metal and thatched homes were flattened by strong winds, and clay huts were also blown off.

Nearly three million individuals in Bangladesh saw their power shut off before Cyclone Remal, according to government authorities. At least 1, 200 energy poles have been uprooted, according to officials in West Bengal, according to a Reuters news organization.

” We have had no power since day, my mobile device will work out any period”, Rahat Raja from Bangladesh’s seaside city of Satkhira told Reuters.

A farmer in Bagerhat, in the south of India, claimed that food shortages were brought on by the hurricane.

No cars are present on the road, they say. Meal is also in short supply. All stores are closed since yesterday”, Mohammed Ali said.

Cox’s Bazar in the southeast of the nation is one of the region’s most affected areas, where camps for almost a million Rohingya refugees are in danger of landslides and flooding because of their fragile temporary homes.

The Asia-Pacific region’s International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent ( IFRC ) said they had trained volunteers on standby and were prepared to relocate people living in “high-risk areas” and warned people in the camps.

Save the Children said it had sent four emergency response teams to the government’s affected areas, including a health group, to support recovery.

Shumon Sengupta, the foundation’s region director, said the storm” shows but afterwards how resilient Bangladesh is to extreme weather events.”

Bangladesh is one of the most resilient nations in the world to the effects of climate change, where it experiences extreme heatwaves and flood.

Officials in both nations have been able to prepare for Cyclone Remal’s entrance by moving across the Bay of Bengal over the past several days.

In Kolkata, the money of India’s West Bengal state, more than 50 flights were cancelled on Sunday. Airlines have since resumed.

In May 2023, the Bay of Bengal was hit by the region’s most powerful cyclone in more than a decade, affecting thousands in Bangladesh and Myanmar.