At least four people have been reported dead and millions others cut off from electricity supply due to strong winds and heavy rains broughy by cyclone Remal in India and Bangladesh.
The region’s first cyclone of the year has added to a series of frequent storms that have battered the low-lying coastlines of neighboring South Asian countries in recent times, with rising sea surface temperatures attributed to climate change.
Intense winds caused power lines to break, poles and trees to be uprooted, and roofs of certain tin and thatched houses to be torn off, while heavy rain and high tides led to damage to embankments and flooding in coastal regions.
A resident of Bangladesh’s coastal district of Satkhira, Rahat Raja, said, “We have had no electricity since night, my mobile battery will run out anytime. By Allah’s grace, the cyclone was not as violent as we thought.”
Officials of Bangladesh’s Power Ministry has revealed that almost 3 million people in the country were without electricity.
According to authorities, both countries relocated almost a million individuals to storm shelters, with approximately 800,000 in Bangladesh and around 110,000 in India.
Disaster management, Chief Mijanur Rahman, reported that two individuals lost their lives in Bangladesh while on the road to cyclone shelters at the last moment.
Rahman stated, “People are usually very reluctant to leave their livestock and homes to go to cyclone shelters. They wait until the last minute when it is often too late.”
Authorities stated that they will require additional time to assess the complete extent of the damages.
According to Indian weather officials, the storm, with speeds reaching up to 135 kph (84 mph), crossed the region near Bangladesh’s southern port of Mongla and the adjacent Sagar Islands in India’s eastern state of West Bengal late on Sunday.
Weather officials added that the storm began in India around 9 pm on Sunday, lasting approximately five hours before weakening into a cyclone by Monday morning.
Forecasters anticipate the cyclone to move northeastward and further weaken, resulting in increased rainfall in the affected states, as wind and rain conditions gradually ease.
Authorities reported one fatality in the state capital of Kolkata due to falling concrete, while another person died when a mud house collapsed on Mousuni Island in the Sundarbans delta.
In the area shared by India and Bangladesh, some protective river embankments were breached by high tides, affecting the world’s largest mangrove forests.
Heavy rainfall inundated roads and disrupted transportation in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. In preparation for the storm, authorities in Dhaka set up nearly 8,000 cyclone shelters and enlisted 78,000 volunteers.
India’s navy remains prepared for rescue operations, with ships, aircraft, divers, and medical supplies on standby.
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