Cyclone Remal: 10 Dead, Several injured in Bangladesh, Rain To Continue Till Tuesday

A majority of the deaths were reported due to the uprooting of trees, drowning, and wall collapse. Meanwhile, one person also died of illness while heading to a cyclone centre. 

At least 10 people, including two women, have lost their lives in different upazilas after Cyclone Remal hit the Bangladesh coast.

A majority of the deaths were reported due to the uprooting of trees, drowning, and wall collapse. Meanwhile, one person also died of illness while heading to a cyclone centre. 

Among the deceased, three died in Bhola and Barisal districts each, and one each in Satkhira, Khulna, Chittagong and Patuakhali districts.

Severe Cyclone Remal made landfall between Khepupara and West Bengal’s Sagar Island on Monday night. The storm weakened after it crossed onto the land, eventually becoming a depression.

As the storm’s intensity decreased, Bangladesh's ports lowered their alert levels. The Payra and Mongla maritime ports lowered Greater Danger Signal No. 10 to Local Cautionary Signal No. 3. The Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar ports lowered Greater Danger Signal No 9 to Local Cautionary Signal No 3 as well.

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief of Bangladesh Md Mohibbur Rahman confirmed the fatalities.

The storm also damaged 150,457 houses, of which 35,483 houses were fully damaged in 107 unions and 914 municipalities, the state minister said while speaking at a press briefing held at the Secretariat on Monday. 

The minister said that nineteen districts - Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jhalakathi, Barishal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola, Feni, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Narail, Gopalganj, Shariatpur and Jessore - have been affected during the storm.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said Cyclone Remal completed its landfall and weakened to a land depression over Bangladesh on Monday.
 
A total of 9,424 shelters have been opened in the coastal districts of the country and over 800,000 people took shelter there, Rahman said.

He also claimed that no major damage had occurred due to massive preparation taken by the ministry following the directives of the prime minister.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,471 medical teams were formed to provide treatment to the people in the cyclone-hit areas and of them, 1,400 remain active.

The country has allocated 6.85 crore Bangladeshi Taka to the affected people.

Meanwhile, the metro rail operations on Agargaon-Motijheel section was suspended on Monday afternoon. The operation came to a halt around 5pm following a weak signal, said the official.

Polling suspended in 19 Upazilas  

Bangladesh's Election Commission has postponed polls for 19 Upazila Parishads in the country in consideration of flooding and damage to these constituencies due to Cyclone Remal.

The list includes 18 coastal Upazilas and one hill Upazila, Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam told the media on Monday.

“The water has risen in some areas due to the storm, other places are without power, and a few are cut off. As a result, the decision has been taken to postpone the polls.”

The third phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad elections is to be held on Wednesday. With 19 Upazilas dropped from the list, 90 will still be going to the polls.

The Upazilas where the voting was postponed are Sharankhola, Morelganj, Mongla, Koyra, Paikgacha, Dumuria, Gaurnadi, Agoiljhara, Patuakhali Sadar, Mirzaganj, Dumki, Mathbaria, Tazumuddin, Lalmohan, Rajapur, Kathalia, Bamna, Pathorghata, and Baghaichhari.

Rain To Continue Till Tuesday

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has said the ongoing rain will persist until Tuesday and temperatures will start to rise slowly from Wednesday.

Severe Cyclone Remal has weakened into a land depression over the country and will lead to scattered rain in different parts of the country on Tuesday, according to meteorologist Kazi Jebunnesa.

“But the rain tomorrow won’t be like what we’re seeing today. Today it’s raining across the country. Temperatures across the country will start to rise again after May 28. There is no possibility of another heatwave this month, but there might be a couple of rounds of brief, scattered heatwaves in June,” Jebunnesa said. 

Cox’s Bazar’s Kutubdia saw the most rain in the 24 hours to 9 am on Monday, recording 125 mm of rain. Chattogram, Patuakhali, Khulna, Satkhira, and many other areas also see rain.