Bangladesh (Commonwealth Union)_A tropical storm brought with it waves of destruction, shattering the livelihoods of thousands when it first hit the delta nation last week. According to reports gathered from the United Nations and local news bodies, 10,000 homes were wrecked, over 6000 hectares of crops were washed away, 8 million suffered the loss of power and 24 people died.
Hundreds and thousands of people were immediately ushered into cyclone shelters as the Tropical Storm Sitrang headed North after initially brewing in the Bay of Bengal. It rained heavily the entire day, causing floods to erupt in the southern coastal region of Bangladesh.
The weather office in Dhaka reported that the danger had passed the next day as the gusts of winds slowed down to a pace of 65 kilometres per house in comparison to the 88 kilometres per hour speed in which the winds blew the day before.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that no major damage was caused in the refugee camps on Bhasan Char Island and Cox’s Bazar district which housed over a million refugees in total.
Divers were sent to retrieve bodies the following day in Chattogram. Officials from the area reported that 8 bodies were discovered after a dredger capsized in the Bay of Bengal. Another official in Cumilla district stated that two individuals along with their 4-year-old daughter had met with their unfortunate death as a tree collapsed on their home due to the storm. More deaths like these were reported due to drowning and collapsing of structures and buildings as the storm powered through, destroying everything.
Bangladesh as a country is naturally prone to such disasters due to it being a delta nation. However, environmentalists duly reported that such harsh unexpected storms were a result of the growing climate change, and this would only get worse with time.
