KHULNA, May 27, 2021(BSS) – At least 27 South-Western upazilas in Khulna division have been flooded, forcing over two lakh people to get water-logged due to tidal surges caused by the cyclone YAAS.
The deluge washed away hundreds of shrimp ghers (enclosure) and swamped embankments in low-lying coastal areas, said an official of Khulna Divisional Commissioner Office here today.
At least four lakh people of 27 upazilas in nine districts of the division have been affected by tidal waves in the Khulna coastal-belt due to impact of severe cyclone ‘YAAS’, he said.
“Lots of shrimp ghers (enclosure) have been washed away while thatched houses, trees, electricity and telephone poles, dykes and crop lands were damaged and many villages were submerged by tidal surges,” he said.
Besides, four dead deer were recovered from Bagerhat while two were recovered alive from Pirojpur after the cyclone.
Khulna District Administration, Mongla Port Authority, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) of Mongla West Zone, Fire Service and Civil Defence are working to rehabilitate the affected people of the coastal area.
As part of the immediate response, more than three lakh people were evacuated and taken to 3000 cyclone shelters in coastal districts before the cyclone ‘YAAS’ that hit Odisha and West Bengal of India , said Khulna Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Ismail Hossain today.
“We are facing greater damage and devastation than the COVID-19,” he said.
While a thorough assessment of damage caused by the cyclone will be made, there are reports of many trees being uprooted from different coastal resorts including Dakop, Koyra, Paikgacha and Batiaghata in Khulna, Shyamnagar, Ashshuni and Kaligang in Satkhira, Sharonkhola, Morelgang and Mongla in Bagerhat and other seven districts in the division.
Around 3,560 volunteers of different organisations, including Red Crescent and CPP, are working in different regions, he said, adding that 1,100 more volunteers from non-government organizations (NGOs) are also working.
A total of 116 medical teams with health workers are working at cyclone affected upazilas, he added.
In some places, trees have fallen and traffic has stopped. Raw-brick and thatched houses have been partially and fully damaged due to tidal waves, the embankments in the lower reaches of Koyra, Paikgachha and Dakop in Khulna and other upazilas in Satkhira and Bagerhat have been breached and flooded, he added.
Contacted, Belayet Hossain, Forest Officer of East Sundarbans Department, said local people and forest guards recovered two dead bodies from the Boleswar River, one in Dublarchar and one in Kochikhali in the Sundarbans while two were recovered from Amragachia and Ulubaria under Mathbaria in Pirojpur.
The storm ‘YAAS’, however, claimed seven lives so far and injured some people in coastal areas.
Khulna District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Azizul Islam Zoarder told BSS today, 16 tonnes of rice, 2100 packet dry foods and Taka 4.40 lakh are being distributed among the cyclone affected people in Koyra, Dacop, Paikgachha and Batiaghata in Khulna. #