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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Bangla: Cyclone Bijli fizzles out with no major damage; 5 killed |
| 2009-04-19 |
| Honest. That's the original headline, from the site. [Bangla Daily Star] Life was returning to normal in the coastal districts and the Chittagong and Mongla ports and Chittagong airport resumed operation as the weakened cyclone Bijli turned into a land depression yesterday morning. Bijli hit Chittagong-Cox's Bazar coast at around 7:30pm Friday, weakened gradually with rainfalls and fizzled out yesterday morning as it entered Rangamati. Though there were no major casualties or damages, five people were killed during the cyclone in Cox's Bazar, Chittagong and Noakhali Friday night, while 12 people were injured, said Deputy Secretary for Food and Disaster Management Sultanul Islam at a press briefing yesterday. As much as 1,200 hectares of standing boro crops and houses were damaged and thousands of trees uprooted in strong wind, Islam added. The almost 24-hour power snap caused due to damages to power transmission lines in Bandarban was repaired yesterday evening. People who took shelters in the cyclone centres began returning home. Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Syed Farhaduddin Ahmed said, "All the vessels that were sent to safe points at the outer anchorage are being brought to the jetties." No damage was marked at the port, he added. About 6,000 fishing trawlers returned safely from the sea before the cyclone hit the coast, said Mujibur Rahman, president of Cox's Bazar Boat Owners Association, reports A Correspondent in Cox's Bazar. Deputy Commissioner Monzur Alam Bhuiyan said about 3 lakh people were evacuated from the coast and taken to 534 shelter centres. More than 4,000 volunteers and 107 medical teams were on hand to face the disaster, the DC added. Those who took shelter in different cyclone centres started returning home Friday midnight. Abdur Rahim, 8, son of Abdul Monaf of Pekua upazila, died when a tree fell on him, while the two-year-old child of Amir Hossain of Char Para died in a stampede in Kasturaghat cyclone centre in Cox's Bazar at 9:30pm Friday. Seven women and children were also injured in the stampede. More than 50 people were injured as trees and thatched houses fell on them. Sources say over 500 thatched houses and 1,500 betel leaf plantations were destroyed, while boro crops on about 20 acres of land and salt production in about 70,000 acres of land in the district remained suspended due to rainfall. People in the coastal areas of Chittagong heaved a sigh of relief as Bijli caused no casualty and big damage of property, writes our Staff Correspondent in Chittagong. |
| Posted by:Fred |