Thread: TC Sidr- Massive casualties in Bangladesh

KHULNA, Bangladesh — A powerful cyclone packing 149-mph winds slammed into Bangladesh on Thursday night, tearing down flimsy houses, toppling trees and power poles, and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in the low-lying nation.

Tropical Cyclone Sidr swept in from the Bay of Bengal, buffeting southwestern coastal areas within a 155-mile radius of its eye with heavy rain and storm surges predicted to reach 20 feet high.

Sidr's eye crossed the Khulna-Barisal coast near the Sundarbans mangrove forests around 9:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EST), the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said. It was centered over the Baleshwar River in Barguna district.

In the coastal districts of Bagerhat, Barisal and Bhola, residents said the storm flattened thousands of flimsy straw and mud huts, and uprooted trees and electric poles.

"We sitting out the storm by candlelight," resident Bishnu Prashad said by phone from Bagerhat.

At least 620,000 people had moved into official shelters and 3.2 million people were expected to be evacuated in all, said Ali Imam Majumder, a senior government official in Dhaka.

No casualties were immediately reported, but rescue teams were on standby, forest official Mozharul Islam said in Khulna.

Communications with remote forest areas and offshore islands were temporarily cut off.

"We have taken all precautions," Majumder said.

Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation, is prone to seasonal cyclones and floods that cause huge losses of life and property. The coastal area bordering eastern India is famous for the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, a world heritage site that is home to rare Royal Bengal Tigers

The Meteorological Department had put the country's three major maritime ports -- Chittagong, Mongla and Cox's Bazar -- on the highest level of alert.
Ferry service and flights were halted across the coastal region.

Ships were warned to return to shore. Volunteers helped evacuate villagers to cyclone shelters, built of concrete on raised pilings. Some took refuge in "mud forts" built along the coast to resist tidal surges.

Schools, mosques and other public buildings were also turned into makeshift shelters.

Many of the fishing boats in the region's coastal waters put down anchor at nearby shoals and islets that dot the South Asian country's shoreline.

The sea resort of Cox's Bazar was deserted after Wednesday's warning. Dozens of tourists were stranded in the offshore coral atoll of St. Martins as rough seas forced cruise boats and ships to stay ashore.

This, and previous two posts from
FOXNews.com - Tropical Cyclone Batters Bangladesh - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- A powerful cyclone slammed into Bangladesh on Thursday night, tearing down flimsy houses, toppling trees and power poles, and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in the low-lying nation.
Residents of Barisal, Bangladesh, shelter against the rain Thursday as Tropical Cyclone Sidr approaches.





Tropical Cyclone Sidr swept in from the Bay of Bengal packing winds of 149 mph (240 kilometers per hour), buffeting southwestern coastal areas within a 155-mile radius of its eye with heavy rain and storm surges predicted to reach 20 feet high.
Sidr's eye crossed the Khulna-Barisal coast near the Sundarbans mangrove forests around 9:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET), the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said. It was centered over the Baleshwar River in Barguna district.
In the coastal districts of Bagerhat, Barisal and Bhola, residents said the storm flattened thousands of flimsy straw and mud huts, and uprooted trees and electric poles.
"We sitting out the storm by candlelight," resident Bishnu Prashad said by phone from Bagerhat.
At least 620,000 people had moved into official shelters and 3.2 million people were expected to be evacuated in all, said Ali Imam Majumder, a senior government official in Dhaka.
No casualties were immediately reported, but rescue teams were on standby, forest official Mozharul Islam said in Khulna.



Communications with remote forest areas and offshore islands were temporarily cut off.
"We have taken all precautions," Majumder said.
Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation, is prone to seasonal cyclones and floods that cause huge losses of life and property. The coastal area bordering eastern India is famous for the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, a world heritage site that is home to rare Royal Bengal Tigers.
The Meteorological Department had put the country's three major maritime ports -- Chittagong, Mongla and Cox's Bazar -- on the highest level of alert.
Ferry service and flights were halted across the coastal region.
Ships were warned to return to shore. Volunteers helped evacuate villagers to cyclone shelters, built of concrete on raised pilings. Some took refuge in "mud forts" built along the coast to resist tidal surges.
Schools, mosques and other public buildings were also turned into makeshift shelters.




Many of the fishing boats in the region's coastal waters put down anchor at nearby shoals and islets that dot the South Asian country's shoreline.
The sea resort of Cox's Bazar was deserted after Wednesday's warning. Dozens of tourists were stranded in the offshore coral atoll of St. Martins as rough seas forced cruise boats and ships to stay ashore.

Death toll is up to 500 as of 8 a.m. that is from the wind, no count from the water yet!!

How terrible! It will get higher and I know they will never know the exact death toll because of the poverty in some areas and lack of communication.

Pray for those people! This is devastating...

Originally Posted by shargurl

Pray for those people! This is devastating...

Prayer is all we can give them right now.

Sidr wreaks havoc in coastal region; at least 496 killed, thousands injured
UNB, Dhaka

At least 496 people were killed and thousands injured in 22 districts as the powerful cyclone Sidr lashed the country's south and south-western regions last night.


The terrible tropical storm that packed speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, made landfall in the Barisal-Khulna belt last night, flattening tens of thousands of houses and uprooting numerous trees.

"The hurricane crossed the coast at 3:00am early today (Friday) and was now lying over the southern and central parts of Bangladesh as a land depression this morning," a latest meteorological office bulletin said.
A total blackout gripped the country after Thursday midnight as all power stations tripped under the impact of the hurricane.

More than 100 people were killed and some 300 went missing in Bagerhat district. Besides, hundreds of people were wounded and thousands of houses flattened in the coastal district, police said.


Bagerhat's Swarankhola upazila alone reported 200 people missing.


Some 110 deaths were reported from Patuakhali, another worst-hit coastal district. At least 40 people remained missing in the district.


46 people died in Kalapara upazila alone, followed by 29 in Dashmina. Acting police super of Patuakhali confirmed the toll.


The cyclone killed at least 57 people and injured hundreds in Barguna, state-run Bangladesh Television reported, adding that thousands of houses were damaged by the nightlong storm.

Further details were not available immediately, as communications with the district remained cut off. A report from Barisal said casualty figures in Barguna could rise further