The coastal areas of Bangladesh experienced drizzles, strong winds and tidal surges from Wednesday morning, but there was no news of any major devastation after Cyclone Yaas made landfall in India’s Odisha.

The high tides caused some damage in coastal districts and one death was reported in the Lalmohan sub-district of Bhola district when a man was killed by a branch of a tree that fell in the storm.

Furthermore, a four-year-old child drowned in the tidal water in Morrelganj sub-district of Bagerhat, reported news agency UNB.

At least 5,000 families in Sarankhola, Morrelganj and Mongla sub-districts of Bagerhat have been stranded as the water level in the rivers adjacent to these places have gone up due to the cyclone.

Three people were injured and around 50 houses damaged in a storm at Armukhi village in Jhenaidah Sadar sub-district on Tuesday night, before Cyclone Yaas made landfall.
 
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) said it had rescued 12 people after a trawler capsized in the rough sea near Bhashar Char in Noakhali. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the development, adding that an AW-139 search and rescue helicopter of BAF was used to airlift the victims from the Bay of Bengal.

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief said a total of 27 sub-districts under nine coastal districts - Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali and Laxmipur - had been affected by tidal surges due to the cyclone.

At a press briefing, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mohammad Enamur Rahman said the ministry had received information from 14 coastal districts after the cyclone. 

In Satkhira, tidal water was 3-6 feet high and had overwhelmed embankments at certain points. Only 280 people went to the cyclone shelter and returned to their homes in the morning.

In Patuakhali, 14,000 people went to cyclone shelters. In Barguna, some lowlands were flooded and embankments were damaged.

In the Jhalakathi district, however, rivers were flowing above the danger line.      

In Bhola, some houses were destroyed and crop fields damaged. Over 2,000 people had moved to the cyclone shelters, according to the ministry.

Some low-lying coastal areas of Khulna and Barisal divisions were inundated due to the high tide in the sea under the influence of the cyclonic storm Yaas and the full moon.

Locals said the embankments overflowed and broke at different places, including Kamanibasia, Pankhali and near Marine Company under Dakop upazila in Khulna.

Koyra sub-district Officer Animesh Biswas said water entered the locality by breaching and overflowing the embankments at multiple places in the sub-district. However, it was not yet possible to give an exact figure of how many villages had been flooded.

The authorities concerned, along with the local people and volunteers were conducting repair work, he added.

(SAM)