Sitrang aftermath: 8m customers in Bangladesh are still without power as death toll climbs

The cyclone left at least 22 people dead and caused extensive damage to power lines in the coastal zone

Power has been restored to parts of Bangladesh after an 18-hour outage caused by Cyclone Sitrang as it tore into coasts between Chattogram and Barishal, packing gale-force winds and heavy rains.

After making landfall on Monday, the cyclone carved a path of devastation across the country, uprooting trees and utility poles while knocking out power and telecom connections.

Reports of at least 22 deaths surfaced as the scale of the storm's impact on human life and property started to become clearer on Tuesday after the cyclone was downgraded to a land depression.

REPAIRS ONGOING

Repairs to power lines were underway, but the work may take a while to complete due to the extensive damage caused by the storm in some areas, according to the distribution companies.

Until 12 pm on Tuesday, the urban parts of Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali, Chandpur and Lakshmipur under the Power Development Board were still without power.

Repairs to transmission lines were ongoing in Jhalakathi town, Kathalia Upazila, Bhola's Charfesson, and Faridpur's Bhanga and Golanda, where power is supplied by the West Zone Power Distribution Company or WZPDC.

The power supply was disrupted when transmission lines were snapped by falling trees, while utility poles were also uprooted in some areas, according to WZPDC officials. It may take a few more hours before the situation returns to normal as officials continue to assess the extent of the overall damage.

"We have received an estimation of the damage which we are reviewing. We will provide further details after evaluating the information," said Rafiqul Islam, director of the Rural Electrification Board.

2,000 UTILITY POLES DAMAGED

As many as 2,000 utility poles were damaged across the coastal zone during the cyclone, according to State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.

Electricity workers have been carrying out repairs in different areas since Monday night, Hamid told reporters on Tuesday.

A total of 8 million customers remain disconnected from the power grid as of Tuesday afternoon. The authorities are hoping to restore power supply to 70 percent of users by the evening once the transmission lines are repaired.

“At least 800 poles belonging to the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board were damaged. Altogether, around 2,000 electric poles under different power supply authorities like the BPDB were damaged. Our focus is to restore the electricity supply and provide it to hospitals as soon as possible,” Hamid said.

CYCLONE BATTERS 10,000 HOMES

An estimated 10,000 homes and 6,000 hectares of cropland across 419 coastal unions were damaged during the cyclone, according to State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman.

As many as 1,000 fish farms and enclosures were also washed away, but the impact of the storm could have been much worse if it intensified further into a super-cyclone, Enamur said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

Around a million people took refuge in 6,925 shelters across the country overnight. But they have since left the shelters as the storm died down, he said.

Enamur added that nine people died during the cyclone, although a bdnews24.com count puts the death toll at 22.

The families of the dead will receive Tk 25,000 each from the government.

The authorities will also provide materials to rebuild the damaged fisheries along with access to interest-free loans, said Enamur.

Several parts of the country were inundated by the storm surge but the situation has started returning to normal, he added.

DHAKA DELUGED BY RECORD RAINFALL

After two days of inclement weather induced by the cyclone, the sun finally shone over the capital on Tuesday, lifting some of the overnight gloom.

The capital felt the impact of the cyclone on Monday as winds packing speeds of up to 70 kph accompanied torrential downpours.

As many as 287 were reportedly toppled across the country by the storm, including 56 in the Dhaka division, according to the fire service.

During the course of the cyclone, moderate to heavy rains lashed most parts of the country, with Barishal experiencing the highest rainfall of 333 mm, the most in a single day since 2009. Meanwhile, Dhaka recorded 255 mm of rainfall, a 12-year high.

The capital's Jatrabari, Kajla, Rayerbagh, Kakoli, Dhanmondi 27, Shantinagar and parts of Old Dhaka remained waterlogged on Tuesday. The roads beneath the Mohakhali and Kuril flyovers were also flooded.

PEOPLE HEAD HOME FROM SHELTERS

The cyclone cut its path through the Chattogram-Barishal coast near Bhola around 9 pm on Monday, whipping up gale-force winds and heavy rains.

But the storm's intensity began waning around 10 pm, prompting people to start returning home from the shelters.

The cyclone cut its path through the Chattogram-Barishal coast near Bhola around 9 pm on Monday, whipping up gale-force winds and heavy rains.

But the storm's intensity began waning around 10 pm, prompting people to start returning home from the shelters.

However, some of the evacuees, whose houses were in low-lying and flood-prone areas stayed at the shelters overnight. They began their journey home around dawn. Most of the storm shelters were empty by Tuesday morning.

CASUALTIES OF SITRANG

Most of the casualties were caused by trees uprooted during the cyclone.

In Sirajganj Sadar, a woman and her infant son died when a small boat sank in a canal of the Jamuna River.

The victims, identified as Ayesha Khatun, 28, and Arafat Hossain, 2, were returning home to Purbo Mohanpur when the boat, carrying six others, capsized amid treacherous weather conditions, according to Mosaddek Hossain, chief of Bangabandhu Bridge West Police Station.

The child drowned after falling off his mother's lap while Ayesha died in hospital after being rescued by locals. However, the other passengers managed to get ashore, said Mosaddek.

In Barguna Sadar, a centenarian, identified as Amena Khatun, was crushed to death when a tree fell on top of her house in the Sonakhali Bazar area.

Amena lived by herself in a small house, and although she and her family members were told to evacuate to a shelter, they stayed put, according to Main Uddin Moina, a union council member.

Relatives later pulled her body out from the debris.

In Gopalganj's Tungipara, felled trees crushed two women to death during the storm, according to Tungipara Police Station chief Abul Mansoor.

Sharmin Begum, a 25-year-old housewife, was on the balcony of her home when a tree suddenly collapsed onto the house, killing her instantly.

Meanwhile, 65-year-old Rumisha Begum also died when a tree fell on her home while she was asleep.

In Cumilla’s Nangalkot, a couple and their 4-year-old daughter died in their sleep after a tree collapsed on their home at Hesakhan Pashchim Para around 11pm.

The victims are Nizam Uddin, his wife Sharmin Akter Sathi and their daughter Nusrat Akter Liza.

Raihan Mehboob, chief executive of the Upazila administration, said officials of the administration and police rushed to the spot after the incident.

Md Iqbal Bahar, chairman of Hesakhal Union Council, said the tree was a large one and all the victims were asleep during the incident.

Faruk Hossain, chief of Nangalkot Police Station, said they were trying to find out if there were any other people in the house.

A rickshawpuller and a motorcyclist were injured after the brick railing on the rooftop of a four-storey building collapsed on Maneshwar Road at Jigatola in Dhaka's Hazaribagh, said Enamul Haque Khandaker, an inspector of Hazaribagh Police Station.

Locals rescued the two and took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared the rickshaw puller dead and admitted the motorcyclist for treatment, according to Inspector Bachchu Mia of the hospital’s police outpost.

The victims could not be identified immediately.

In Bhola's Lalmohan Upazila, a woman died after her house was inundated due to a tidal surge triggered by the storm.

As the water level in her house rose, Rabeya Begum, 25, headed out around 3:30 am to find shelter elsewhere, but she drowned according to Abul Kashem, chairman of Lord Hardinge Union.

Meanwhile, 62-year-old Mofizul Haque was killed by a falling tree in Bhola Sadar, according to Upazila Nirbahi Officer Touhidur Islam.

Bibi Khadija, 80, was also crushed after a tree fell on her house. Relatives rescued her and rushed her to the Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared her dead.

Al Noman, UNO of Charfesson, said Alam Swarnakar, a resident of the Ewajpur area of the Upazila, was killed after a tree branch fell on a motorcycle.

The driver was unharmed, but Alam was injured. He was taken to the Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead.

Md Nasir Uddin, chief of Lohagara Police Station in Narail, said a branch of a mahogany tree broke and fell on the head of a woman, Morjina Begum, 40, outside Rural Savings Bank near the Upazila council office on Monday afternoon.

She was seriously injured and was rushed to Lohagara Upazila Health Complex. Dr Nadira Bhuiyan, a physician at the emergency department of the complex, said Morjina died before being brought to the facility.

Morjina, a resident of Arjanbahar village of Bagerhat Sadar Upazila, was separated from her husband and living with her 11-year-old son. She worked as a house help.

Police have informed her relatives and the body will be handed over to the relatives when they come, Nasir said.

Md Azgar Ali, chief executive of the Upazila administration, said Morjina’s family will get cash aid.