Several people were injured, two fishermen went missing and at least 25 cattle heads were killed
Published : 07 Apr 2024, 05:55 PM
Storms and lightning strikes have left at least nine people dead in six districts of Bangladesh.
Several people were injured, two fishermen went missing and at least 25 cattle heads were killed in the incidents in Patuakhali, Jhalakathi, Netrokona, Jashore, Pirojpur and Bhola on Sunday.
The storms left a trail of destruction in parts of the country, uprooting trees and utility poles, and destroyed homes, leaving many areas without power. Crops were also damaged.
Two people were crushed under fallen trees in Patuakhali’s Bauphal and Pirojpur’s Sadar Upazila.
Lightning strikes claimed the lives of three people in Jhalakathi Sadar and Kathalia Upazilas, and one each in Netrokona’s Khaliajuri, Jashore’s Jhikargacha, and Patuakhali’s Bauphal, according to the local authorities.
In the forecast for Sunday amid a heat wave, Bangladesh Meteorological Department said rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with hail storms at isolated places.
The long-term forecast says there is a possibility of Kalbaisakhi or nor’wester storms in April. A low pressure system or cyclone may also develop in the Bay of Bengal.
The Met Office says two to four mild to moderate heat waves may occur across Bangladesh this month. One or two severe to very severe heat waves are also possible, with maximum temperatures reaching 40-42 degrees Celsius.
JHALAKATHI
At 10am, the sky darkened and a storm suddenly started in Jhalakathi. Trees were torn down and uprooted by the rain and heavy wind in various locations across the district.
Around 11am, two women and a child were killed by lightning strikes in separate incidents. Another person was injured by a strike.
The dead were identified as Helena Begum, 40, Minara Begum, 35, and Mahia Akhtar Ishana, 11.
The three were killed by lightning in different locations as they were trying to bring livestock in from the fields to protect them from the storm, said Afruzul Haque Tutul, superintendent of Jhalakathi police.
Ishana hailed from Isalia village in the Sadar Upazila. She was the daughter of rickshaw driver Bachchu Howlader and a student in the sixth grade at Afsar Memorial Secondary School.
Rubel Howlader, a local van driver, said the girl had gone to recover a cow tied near their home around 10:15am when the sky darkened and it began to drizzle.
“She was struck by lightning and died on the spot. The cow’s calf was killed by the strike as well.”
Twenty-nine-year-old local resident Wadud Munshi was also injured in a lightning strike. He was rescued by locals and taken to Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital.
He is currently out of danger, according to TM Mehedi Hasan Sunny, resident doctor at the hospital.
Of the two housewives killed in other lightning strikes, Helena lived in Sheikherhat in Jhalakathi’s Sadar Upazila, while Minara lived in Uttar Talgachia village in Kathalia Upazila.
They were also attempting to bring cattle in from the fields when they were killed, according to their families.
NETROKONA
A farmer was killed by a lightning strike in the haor area of Netrokona’s Khaliajuri Upazila.
The incident occurred in the Rajghat Haor around 11:45am.
The victim was identified as 52-year-old Shaheed Mia from Jagannathpur Village in Mendipur Union.
Rezaul Karim, the victim’s brother and general secretary of the union’s Awami League unit, said Shaheed was tending to his pepper crops in the haor when it started to rain around noon.
“Lightning struck and my brother was killed on the spot. Our village has descended into mourning.”
Police have been sent to the scene, said Uttam Kumar Saha of Khaliajuri Police Station. The necessary steps will be taken after speaking with the victim’s family, he said.
JASHORE
A farmer struck by lightning while tending to his rice field in Jashore’s Jhikorgacha Upazila has died.
The incident occurred in Boropodaulia village on Sunday morning, said Jahan Ali, former Upazila council member from Shankarpur Union.
The victim was identified as local resident Abdul Malek Patwari.
Malek was tending to his crops when the rain started coming down and he was struck by lightning, Jahan Ali said. He was killed on the spot.
“When the rain stopped the other farmers found his body lying there, recovered it, and brought it back to his home.”
PATUAKHALI
An elderly woman died after being crushed by a fallen tree during a storm while a boy lost his life after being hit by lightning in the district’s Bauphal Upazila. The dead are Sufia Begum, 80, and Ratul Shikder, 14.
Two fishermen – Ibrahim Farazi and Ismail Rari - went missing while working in the Tentulia River after the 35-minute storm began around 10:30am.
Bashir Gazi, chief executive of Bauphal Upazila administration, said at least 25 cows and buffalos died from lightning strikes.
Hundreds of kilometres of electricity cables, along with utility poles, fell during the storm, which also uprooted thousands of trees, according to him. The Upazila was without power in the afternoon.
Hails damaged watermelon and other crops.
Bashir said the families of the dead would be given Tk 20,000 each. The authorities will also provide affected villagers with rice and corrugated tin sheets.
BHOLA
More than 200 homes were destroyed and a huge number of trees were uprooted in Bhola’s Sadar, Monpura and Lalmohan Upazilas, locals and authorities said.
Lalmohan Upazila Executive Officer Towhidul Islam said a 68-year-old beggar named Hares Ahmed died after a tree fell on the house of Monir Hossain in the Badarpur area. Hares took shelter in Monir house during the storm.
In the Meghna river, a trawler capsized with six fishermen onboard. Nearby boats rescued them immediately but the sunken trawler could not be rescued.
Deputy Commissioner Arifuzzaman said they allocated 16 tonnes of rice for the affected villagers. The family of the dead person will get Tk 25,000.
PIROJPUR
A 25-year-old housewife named Rubi Begum died after a tree fell on her home in Pirojpur Sadar Upazila, said Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Jahedur Rahman.
Two others were also injured in the incident.
Locals said hundreds of homes were damaged and many trees were uprooted during the storm.
The most affected Sadar Upazila was without power as trees fell on electricity cables.