A struggle for riding out the devastation of ‘Amphan’

Hearing great danger signal number 10 for severe cyclone, Selim Miah from Nishanbaria village of Barguna Sadar upazila went to his nearby shelter centre along with his old parents and two cattle.

The cyclone crossed the area leaving its trail of destruction. When Selim returned home early yesterday, he found his only home destroyed by "Amphan."

He saw his enclosures (gher) for shrimp flooded as the river embankment collapsed due to tidal surge. And all the fishes got swept away as well.

Breaking down in tears Selim Miah said, "I made enclosures, taking pond on lease from others. I also took a loan to prepare the enclosures, buy baby fish and food. After a few days, I was supposed to earn Tk2 lakh. But Amphan took it all away."

"I wanted to renovate my old house with the profit from selling fishes. But I am ruined now.

"I can stay under trees, but where will my parents stay?"

Kestopad Dash is a 48-year-old day labourer of Kismotghona village of Tala upazila of Satkhira. He has become unemployed due to shutdown. 

Now, "Amphan" came as a new curse for him when his tin shed house had been destroyed on the night of May 20. Now three members of his family are living in the house of a neighbour.

"I am jobless now. I lost my only shelter and don't know what to do. Now I am waiting for government's help," said Kestopad.

"I have not yet got any relief or any assurance from the local public representative or government officials." 

Not only Selim or Kestopad, but thousands of people from the Amphan-hit areas are also facing such a situation. 

The cyclonic storm has caused great pain for people as they are already grappling with the Covid-19 crisis.

On the night of May 20, the powerful cyclone hit Satkhira with a wind speed of 152km per hour. 

The wind speed in Patuakhali was 122kmph, 83kmph in Khulna, 85kmph in Mongla, 75kmp in Khepupara, 75kmph in Koyra and 64kmph in Hatiya.

Coastal areas of Satkhira, Bagerhat and Patuakhali were the most affected among 26 districts that were hit. 

Khulna and Barishal were also affected. After lashing coastal and adjoining areas, it moved towards Jashore, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj in the early hours of May 21.

"Amphan" pounded areas which not only prepared for it, but also the ones that were quite unprepared, like Jashore and Rajshahi division.

According to our correspondents and government information, many embankments have been damaged by the tidal surge and many settlements along the coast have been flooded. 

Losing shelter, people are now struggling to rebuild their houses. 

Pulin Krishna Sardar, 65, of the Dangmari of Banishanta Union of Dakop Upazila, said, "My houses were blown away by the cyclone 'Amphan' into the river Pashur. Household goods including paddy, rice, dishes, and utensils have gone to the river."

"I am currently living in an open space on the scaffolding with my son and daughter. We are suffering from a food crisis. But no one from the administration come to us."

Sudebkumar Roy, chairman of Banishanta union parishad, said, "We are listing the affected people. Some relief will come from upazila administration. We will distribute the relief very soon."

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Dakop Abdul Wadud said, "The divisional commissioner and deputy commissioner of Khulna have visited some affected areas of the upazila. They distributed tin sheet and cash."

Mustain Billah, the deputy commissioner of Barguna district, told The Business Standard that they started distributing cash and tin sheet.  

Many affected people are yet to receive help from government officials and public representatives.

Concerned officials said the administration is providing help promptly and trying to reach remote areas. Currently, the government is assessing the losses and actual damage. After a total assessment, everybody will be provided with all support.

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman said, "The ministry has already disbursed relief of rice, cash aid and tin sheet for affected districts. Local administration is already in the field to support the affected people."

According to government sources, the Ministry of Water Resources already engaged in repairing 150 kilometres of embankments which have been affected by the cyclone. The embankments have either been partially or completely damaged in at least 84 places.

Deputy Minister for Water Resources Enamul Haque Shamim said, "Work will continue during holidays and it may take some time to rebuild."

Meanwhile, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur, Deputy Minister for Water Resources Enamul Haque, Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam, Senior Secretary for Relief and Disaster Management Md Shah Kamal, Director General of Disaster Management Department Md Mohsin visited hardest-hit areas of Satkhira, Bagerhat area on Friday.

They asked the concerned authority to take necessary actions, provide relief and all support to the affected people.

According to the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh (Amtob), mobile operation has almost restored after the cyclone, which was interrupted by a power failure.

However, around 15 lakh consumers are still left without electricity in the cyclone "Amphan" hit areas across the country. 

Most of the consumers are from Jashore, Satkhira and Jhenaidah district as the areas were extensively hit by the storm and flooded with river water. The power supplying companies is working to restore the supply by Friday night. 

Jashore never saw such devastation

People of Jashore and the region never saw such devastation in ages.

Elderly citizen Mariam Begum said she never saw such a huge storm in her life.

On Wednesday, people of Jashore experienced rain and storm. According to the Met Office, from Wednesday, the midnight wind speed increased to highest 167 kilometres per hour, devastating the district.

Earlier, nobody thought that "Amphan" would hit the region.

The death toll rose to 23

The death toll from "Amphan" has risen to 23 with seven more deaths in Jashore, one of the districts hit hardest by the disaster.

Officials said most deaths were caused by uprooted trees and collapsing houses as the cyclone pummeled the country's coasts with gusty wind and heavy rainfall on Wednesday, destroying countless homes, ripping out electricity poles and flooding large tracts of land in low-lying areas.

Thirteen people died in Jashore, three in Pirojpur while Patuakhali recorded two fatalities. Jhenaidah, Satkhira, Bhola, Chandpur and Barguna recorded one death each.