Cyclone Remal leaves 12 dead in Bangladesh

It washes people away with storm surge or crush them under collapsed homes and walls

Cyclone Remal has claimed at least 12 lives in Bangladesh, washing people away with storm surge or crushing them under collapsed homes and walls in six districts.

The deaths occurred in Patuakhali, Satkhira, Bhola, Barishal, Khulna and Chattogram between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon.

Two people were killed as they were swept away by the tide in Patuakhali and Satkhira.

Two more were killed in Barishal when the wall of a building collapsed. Another person was crushed to death by a fallen tree in the district.

A pedestrian was killed in Chattogram when a wall collapsed onto him.

Three people were killed when their houses collapsed during the storm in Bhola.

A home crushed by a fallen tree also killed another person in Khulna.

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

As the storm’s intensity fell, Bangladesh’s ports lowered their alert levels. 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.

Below are the reports from our district correspondents:

PATUAKHALI

A man died in Patuakhali after he was swept away by a tidal surge on Sunday afternoon while trying to bring his sister and his aunt to a storm shelter.

Md Sharif Howladar, 28, hailed from the Anantapara area of Kalapara Upazila.

Sharif’s aunt Matowara Begum lived in the Kawar Char area, according to local Upazila executive officer Rabiul. His sister had lived with her.

Sharif, his older brother, and their uncle had gone to rescue his sister and aunt on Sunday afternoon. Along the way, they had to cross a village road that was waterlogged after a nearby dam was breached.

Sharif tried to swim across and reach his aunt’s house, but he was carried away by the tidal surge and lost. An hour later, locals found his body.

SATKHIRA

An elderly man was killed in Satkhira’s Shyamnagar on his way to a storm shelter.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening in the Napitkhali village in the Upazila’s Gabura Union, said Abul Kalam Azad, chief of the Shyamnagar Police Station.

“A shelter was opened in Napitkhali village due to the cyclone,” he said. “Village resident Shawkat Moral, 65, died on his way from his home to the shelter, possibly of a heart attack.”

“My father-in-law and mother-in-law were headed to the Napitkhali shelter together in the evening when my father-in-law fell due to the storm winds and died,” said Asma Khatun, Shawkat’s daughter-in-law.

BHOLA

Three people have been killed after their houses collapsed in separate incidents in Bhola.

A woman died when her house collapsed during the cyclone in Bhola’s Lalmohan Upazila.

The incident occurred in the Char Umed area around 4am on Monday, said SM Mahbub Ul Alam, chief of the Lalmohan Police Station.

“A woman has died after her house collapsed,” he said. “We do not have additional details on the incident yet.”

The victim was identified as Maneza Khatun, a 55-year-old local resident.

Maneza had fallen asleep after dinner and her husband and granddaughter were also asleep in the same room, said Md Hannan, head of the Pashchim Char Umed Union Parishad information centre.

Their home collapsed around 4am amid the intense storm, he said. Though her husband and granddaughter managed to escape, Maneza was unable to get out. Her neighbours later recovered her body from the scene.

Another woman named Maisha was killed in Daulatkhan Upazila when a house collapsed, said Rohanuddin, chief of Daulatkhan Police Station.

Shaheen, chief of Borhanuddin Police Station said that a man named Zakir was killed in the Upazila when a tree fell on him.

BARISHAL

A building wall has collapsed onto a restaurant in Barishal, killing two people.

The incident occurred in the city’s Rupatoli area next to the Lily Petrol Pump around 4am on Monday, said Arisul Haque, chief of Barishal Kotwali Model Police Station.

The dead were identified as Lokman, the owner of the Lokman Hotel restaurant, and his employee Moksedur Rahman.

Another restaurant employee, Sakib, was injured in the incident and admitted to Barishal’s Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for treatment.

“Lokman, Moksedur and Sakib were sleeping inside the tin shed restaurant early in the morning," said Sultan Mahmud, councillor for Barishal City’s 25th Ward. “It was raging outside due to the impact of Remal.”

“At one point, part of a wall on the roof of a neighbouring three-storey building collapsed and fell onto the tin roof of the restaurant. Two people were killed on the spot.”

The Fire Service rushed to the spot, recovered the two bodies and rescued one person alive, he said.

CHATTOGRAM

A pedestrian has died after a wall from a building under construction collapsed in Chattogram.

The incident occurred on Monday morning in the ZA Residential Area in the Bayazid Bostami Thana on Monday morning.

The deceased was identified as 26-year-old Saiful Islam Hridoy. Hridoy hailed from Noakhali’s Begumganj but lived in the Shatabdi Housing area of Khulshi Thana’s Chowdhurynagar.

Saiful worked at a carton factory in the Bayezid Tara Gate area, said Sanjay Kumar, chief of Bayazid Bostami Police Station. He was on his way to work when the wall collapsed on him, killing him on the spot.

The building under construction was for a madrasa and the heavy rain loosened the wall and caused it to collapse, OC Kumar said.