Guwahati: Nine people lost their lives in Bangladesh as Cyclone Sitrang tore through the nation, including three members of one family in Cumilla, two in Bhola, and one in each of Narail, Shariatpur, Barguna, and Dhaka.
According to reports, most fatalities were reportedly caused by uprooted trees falling on people. A monitoring cell from the Fire Service and Civil Defense was operational after the casualties. For a few hours, roads were impassable because of the uprooted trees and light posts that fell. The roads were cleared, though, as the strong gusts subsided Mobile networks and internet services in coastal areas were also impacted During the Cyclonic storm’s landfall. Later, the network was repaired. The districts of Pirojpur and Madaripur had power outages.
Bangladesh government had prepared 7,030 cyclone shelters in 15 coastal districts to evacuate those residing in coastal areas. Over 2 lac people were evacuated from coastal districts and shifted to the cyclone shelters. While the Cyclone lost its intensity after its landfall, coastal areas of Bangladesh are still receiving rainfall, a Zee News report stated.
Heavy rainfall alert in 4 Indian states
Under the influence of Cyclone Sitrang, a red alert indicating heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall has been issued for Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura. Widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rain at isolated places is very likely to occur over Tripura on Tuesday, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). “Under Sitrang influence, widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms/lightning/heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rain at isolated places is very likely to occur over Tripura on 24th & 25th October 2022,” IMD said in a press release.
South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur in West Bengal’s coastal districts experienced moderate to heavy rain and stormy weather as a result of the system, which moved towards Bangladesh from the North Bay of Bengal at a speed of 56 kmph. This dampened the festive mood during Deepavali and Kali Puja.