Bangladesh braces for floods as weakened Fani advances after fatal India sweep

The storm Fani has weakened and moved towards Bangladesh after claiming at least eight lives, leaving a trail of destruction while crossing Odisha coastlines in India.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 3 May 2019, 09:12 PM
Updated : 3 May 2019, 10:20 PM

It was battering coastal Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area in India, about 140km from Kolkata, on Friday night, the Met Offices of India and Bangladesh said.

The cyclone is likely to reach Khulna and adjoining south-western parts of Bangladesh by Saturday morning, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department or BMD. 

India Meteorological Department or IMD, however, says the storm may emerge into Bangladesh on Friday evening with wind speed 70-80kmph gusting to 90kmph.

 

The peripheral effect of the cyclonic storm has been continuing over Bangladesh and its adjoining coastal areas since Friday morning when it struck Odisha.

Under its influence sky remained overcast and rainfall occurred at many places over Bangladesh, triggering warning of flash floods in north and north-eastern Bangladesh.

Extremely heavy rainfalls are likely and may cause a rise in water levels of the main rivers, especially the Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Surma, Kushiara, Kangsha and Teesta, in the next two days, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centres.

Water level is likely to cross the danger level, the Centre warned.

Storm surge has already flooded dozens of villages, affecting thousands of people in along the coast in Patuakhali and Bagerhat districts after dams collapsed or were breached at different points.

Water levels of the Pashur, Mongla, Baleshwar, Bhairab and Panguchhi rivers were rising and may continue to rise, Bagerhat Water Development Board Executive Engineer Nahid-uz-Zaman Khan warned.

Storm surge of 4-5 feet height above normal astronomical tide may hit the coastal districts under the influence of the storm and the new moon phase, the Met Office said.

The low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Chattogram, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Borguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barishal, Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated, it added.

A strong wind blows a glass window into a building during Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India May 3, 2019 in this still image taken from a video obtained from social media. AMAN PRATAP SINGH/via REUTERS

From Saturday night into Sunday, Fani will weaken into a tropical rainstorm as it tracks over Bangladesh, according to a report published by AccuWeather, a media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.

“During this time, life-threatening flooding is still possible along with an elevated risk for mudslides across the rugged terrain of the region,” the report said.

Rainfall amounts of 150-300mm will be possible from far northeast Andhra Pradesh and Odisha into parts of West Bengal, northern Bangladesh and northeast India through Sunday, it added.

According to graphics of Joint Typhoon Warning Centre and weather blog Windy’s simulation, the storm will enter Bangladesh through Rajshahi-Meherpur region before crossing Rangpur to weaken further into a land depression.

People move through debris on a road after Cyclone Fani hit Puri, in the eastern state of Odisha, India, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

DEADLY

The monstrous cyclone has left at least eight people dead while battering Odisha in the form an extremely severe storm, according to the Indian media. 

Senior officials confirmed the death toll and added that information were still awaited from many areas, The Times of India reported on Friday night citing state media Press Trust of India or PTI.

Three people, including a teenaged boy, were reported killed in Puri district, three in Bhubaneswar and nearby areas while flying debris from a concrete structure fatally struck a woman in Nayagarh, according to the report.

An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, it added citing official sources.

Towns and villages were swamped and thatched houses blown away after it made landfall around 8am in Puri.

In Bangladesh, a woman died when a tree fell on her due to gusty winds in Bagerhat in the morning.

Lightning strikes killed six in Kishoreganj as the victims were out for bringing back cattle, or cutting grass for cattle or working at or returning home from crop field.

Having been uprooted by gusts, a tree crushed a car on Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Dhamrai on the outskirts of the capital leaving four people injured, including one ‘critically’.

Cyclone season in the region can last from April to December when severe storms batter coastal cities and cause widespread deaths and damage to crops and property in both Bangladesh and India.

But recent technological advances have helped meteorologists predict weather patterns more accurately and help the authorities prepare.

A super-cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours in 1999, killing 10,000 people.

In 2013, a mass evacuation of nearly a million people likely saved thousands of lives.

This time, Bangladesh and India have evacuated about 1.2 million people each from the possible path of the storm to avoid casualties.

BMD asked all ports to remain shut and vessels to be in shelter until further notice.

Lighter vessels took shelter on the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram as the Bay of Bengal got rough under the influence of cyclonic storm Fani on Friday. Photo: Suman Babu

The storm also forced the organisers of Bangamata U-19 Women’s International Gold Cup tournament to call off the final match between Bangladesh and Laos in Dhaka at 6pm. The two teams have been declared joint champions.

The National University has postponed Saturday’s exams at all colleges under its jurisdiction while the government had earlier deferred Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent exams scheduled for the day to May 14.

India has shut Kolkata and Bhubaneswar airports while a few flights were cancelled or delayed in Dhaka.

Bangladesh had earlier suspended inland water transport operations.