Hiren Pandit: Remal, a powerful cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 135 km per hour, made landfall between the coast of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal. Heavy rainfall followed overnight, inundating many homes and farmlands and causing widespread destruction. Cyclone Remal has crossed the coast of Bangladesh as a deep depression. 107 upazilas of 19 districts were affected by Remal, and the number of affected municipalities and unions is 917. About 35 thousand houses were destroyed, and 1 lakh 15 thousand homes were partially damaged. Many fish cages have been washed away; The crop has been severely damaged. At least 23 people died; These deaths occurred due to wall collapse, on the way to the shelter and various other reasons. Many cattle also died. Besides, about two crore 71 lakh customers lost electricity. In all, several thousand crores of taka have been lost. The people of coastal areas have not seen a storm like Cyclone Remal for a long time. After spending the night, the storm continued to lash the southern region for more than half of the day, i.e., for more than 12-15 hours, which was not seen during Sidor, Aila, and Nargis.
Many cattle also died. Besides, about two crore 71 lakh customers lost electricity. On May 22, a low pressure formed over the East Central Bay of Bengal and adjoining West Central Bay of Bengal. This low pressure gradually accumulates energy and first forms apparent low pressure. After that, the low pressure and deep depression passed and turned into a cyclonic storm on Saturday evening. After the cyclone, it was named Remal, the name given to Oman. On Sunday morning, Remal increased in strength and became a devastating cyclone. This intense cyclone started crossing the West Bengal and Khepupara coasts of Bangladesh. Earlier in the afternoon, the water in the rivers and streams of the coastal region increased by five to seven feet. The wind speed was 90-120 kmph when it hit the coast. The cyclone takes 5-7 hours to make landfall from the coast fully.
Chattogram has the highest rainfall in the country in 24 hours, 235 mm. The amount of rainfall in Dhaka was 151 mm. Most places in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, and Sylhet divisions received moderate to heavy rain. Cyclone ‘Remal’ formed in the Bay of Bengal hit the country’s coast. It has caused extensive damage in some places; Land crops, vegetables, and fish enclosures have been destroyed. It was feared that this storm could be devastating and destructive like Ila. Seeing the prevalence of cyclones, the government took extra precautions in advance.
As a result, the amount of damage has been reduced to a great extent. However, it takes days to get a true picture of the damage after a cyclone. So, we must wait a few more days to know the accurate picture. It is positive that whenever a hurricane is forecast, the government undertakes a massive program to protect the people in the coastal areas. Unfortunately, the cyclone forecast is still not adequately taken into account by many locals, and as a result, it is not possible to bring the loss of life and property to a bearable level. In this case, the people of the coastal area will be more aware.
Recently, cyclones have caused much damage due to weak embankments in coastal areas. This time many dams have been broken due to Remal. As a result, large areas were flooded. This is due to the lack of high-quality dams in the vast coastal areas of the country. Building sustainable dams in coastal areas has become imperative to avoid future damage. It is reported that electricity, telephone, and internet connections have been cut off in all isolated parts of the country due to the impact of Remal. These repairs should be prepared quickly. Relief and rehabilitation measures should be taken after ascertaining the damage caused to the people in the low-lying coastal areas due to the floods.
Special emphasis should be placed on ensuring clean water, dry food and medical care for the affected people. For those who have lost their homes, shelter should be arranged quickly. In case of natural calamity, advance and maximum precautionary measures are essential. Due to early and precautionary measures taken in the case of Remal, the loss of a large number of people in coastal areas has been reduced to some extent. The reality is that humans can’t prevent or stop natural disasters. However, minimizing the damage by taking pre-preparedness and preventive measures is possible. For example, parabon or mangrove forests of coastal areas should not be destroyed in any way. Moreover, new green areas should be created. Embankments should be developed as communication infrastructure. The number and quality of cyclone shelters should be increased. The signaling system should be improved. In addition, the local administration of the coastal areas should have year-round food reserves so that at any time when a disaster occurs, the people’s hunger can be met at the local level before the relief comes from outside. Already, due to inflation, people’s living conditions have become difficult.
The suffering of people in coastal areas has increased due to natural calamities. So, after a natural disaster, along with the administration, NGOs and rich people will also stand by the affected people, which is desirable. Due to climate change, natural disasters will occur more frequently in the future, and their magnitude is likely to increase. The government should make extensive preparations and take preventive measures to deal with such situations. Due to Cyclone Remal, 22 thousand 218 mobile operator sites in the country have been disrupted due to power outages. Over 100 ISP sites have been affected, and nearly 3 lakh customers are without service. In this, the telecommunication system of various coastal areas has been completely cut off.
According to BTRC data, Rangamati has the highest number of mobile tower network outages after Remal. 76 out of 93 sites have been closed in the district. Apart from this, 81 percent of towers in Meherpur, 80 percent in Gopalganj, 79 percent in Madaripur and Manikganj, 78 percent in Barishal, 78 percent in Bagerhat and Pirojpur, 75 percent in Rajbari, 74 percent in Jhalkathi and 73 percent in Barguna have been detached. Meanwhile, 225 out of 320 POPs (points of presence) of Internet Service Provider (ISP) operators in coastal areas have become non-functional. Of these, 85 percent of the Bhola was affected. As a result, more than three lakh customers of that region are being deprived of service.
BTRC said it is using portable generators to keep the service running. According to the Meteorological Department, Remal’s maximum speed was at Patuakhali, 111 km per hour. However, the maximum speed recorded in Dhaka is 59 km per hour. The highest rainfall in the country was recorded in Chittagong at 240 mm under the influence of Remal. Also, 116 mm of rainfall was recorded in Dhaka. Moreover, heavy to hefty rain was recorded in most of the country. Due to the impact of the cyclone, the country’s temperature is now at an average level. In the morning, Mongla and Payra seaports were in danger signal No. 10, and Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar were in danger signal No. 9.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit the affected areas due to severe cyclone Remal soon. Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, MP, said the Prime Minister has constantly monitored Remal’s situation. She gave this information in a press conference at the party’s president’s political office in Dhanmondi. Now, he is monitoring Remal’s situation full-time. Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered party leaders and activists to stand by the people affected by the cyclone. The concerned departmental committee of Awami League will stand by the cyclone victims. The party president has instructed them. Besides, the Prime Minister also ordered the public representatives to come forward to help the affected people.
The districts are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jhalkathi, Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola, Feni, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Narail, Gopalganj, Shariatpur and Jashore. Given the cyclone warning, 9 thousand 424 shelters have been opened in coastal areas. More than 8 lakh people took refuge in these shelters and local educational institutions. The number of sheltered animals, including cow-buffalo and goat-sheep, is 52 thousand 146. One thousand four hundred seventy-one medical teams were formed to provide medical services to the affected people. The government has already started activities to help the people affected by the calamity, and six crore 85 lakhs have been given to the affected people.
Regular contact is also maintained with regional specialized weather stations, thereby avoiding many losses. Besides, various reliable international forecasting models are regularly tested, and timely actions are taken. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief was open 24 hours daily for round-the-clock information exchange to deal with this cyclone. The state minister personally spoke to the MPs of the coastal districts on phone calls and inquired about the local people. Those concerned also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has continuously monitored the overall situation. The state minister said that the Prime Minister’s direction, all the military and civil administrations participating in this program, various levels of public representatives and political leaders, law enforcement forces, various ministries, district and upazila administrations, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, CPP, and other voluntary organizations, With the help of Fire Service and Civil Defense, Armed Forces Division and electronic and print media as well as community media, we have been able to deal with this disaster.
Hiren Pandit is a columnist and a researcher.