The power distribution system was seriously disrupted today, in the cyclone-hit areas of Chittagong, Comilla and other coastal districts.
According to official sources, the power supply was suspended immediately after the cyclonic Roanu hit the Barisal-Chittagong coast near Chittagong at noon.
It took 4-5 hours to cross the coast, leaving at least 11 people dead in different districts.
“Many of our feeder lines connected with power the distribution system went off with the storm making landfall in the areas, and we had to shut down some of them as part of our pre-cautionary measures to avoid major disaster,” PDB director Saiful Hasan told UNB.
He said the PDB and other power entities were instructed to take precautionary measures before Roanu made the landfall. “Despite this, we’re getting reports that power distribution suffered a major setback.”
Hasan said the full effects of the storm on the power system can fully be analyzed when the cyclone completely crosses the area.
He said the power distribution entities are ready to begin the repair and restore work in the affected power transmission and distribution systems.
Cyclone Roanu may cross Bangladesh by 7pm
Cyclonic storm Roanu may cross Bangladesh by this evening after it made landfall in the Barisal, Khulna and Chittagong regions, sending impacts across the country.
“The cyclone may cross the country by 7:00pm,” an on-duty officer of Dhaka Met office’s control room told The Daily Star around 5:10pm.
Earlier around 4:00pm, the official said the storm was heading towards east-northeastwards.
As the storm crossed the Chittagong coastline, the cautionary signal-7 for Chittagong might be lowered down to signal-3 in the evening, said Santosh Chandra Matubbar, deputy director of Chittagong Met Office.
While crossing the coastline, the storm had a speed of 60-80 kilometre per hour while heading east-northeastwards, he said, adding that the rainfall will continue there for next 24 hours due to impact of the cyclone.
Most places of the country witness rain and thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty and squally wind since early morning.
At least 14 people including an 11-year-old child were killed in Bhola, Patuakhali, Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong today as their houses collapsed as Cyclone Roanu makes its impact across the country, our correspondents report.
Goods handling remains suspended at Chittagong port
According to the 9:00am bulletin, the storm over Northwest Bay and adjoining Bangladesh coast moved east-northeastward and lies over northeast Bay and adjoining northwest Bay and adjoining coastal areas.
Ctg airport suspends all flight operations
Very to very heavy falls may occur at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, it added.
The government has taken all the preparations for a possible cyclone impact, Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said.
“We have taken all the preparations to face the situation Roanu might cause,” he briefed reporters at Disaster Management Department today.
The Met Office has issued cautionary signal-7 for Chittagong, Mongla and Payra ports, which means the port will experience severe weather. Maritime port the Cox’s Bazar was asked to hoist cautionary signal-6.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority imposed restrictions on the movement of all ships and ferries across the country.
Offshore islands and chars were likely to be inundated by storm surge of four to five feet high, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told The Daily Star yesterday.
17 killed in 5 districts as Cyclone Roanu makes impact
At least 17 people have been killed, 100 injured and four missing in Chittagong, Bhola, Cox’s Bazar, Noakhali and Patuakhali districts as Cyclone Roanu makes its impact across the country.
Of them, eight people died in Chittagong, three each in Bhola and Cox’s Bazar, two in Noakhali and another in Patuakhali, our correspondents report.
CHITTAGONG
At least eight people including a child were killed due to the stormy weather in the district today.
Kajol Begum and her son Belal Hossain died on the spot when their houses collapsed during the torrential rain in a hilly area at Salinpur in Sitakunda upazila around 4:00am, said Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Najmul Islam Bhuiyan.
The child Md Raqib, 11, died around 1:15pm as he was hit by a stone falling from an under-construction building due to the gusty wind in the city’s Sholashahar area.
BHOLA
Three people were killed and around 100 others injured when their houses collapsed after trees fell on those during the storm in Tajumaddin and Daulatkhan upazilas of the district.
Four people were missing in Daulatkhan upazila, said Md Alam, OC of Daulatkhan Police Station.
Several hundred houses were also damaged at Tajumaddin around 3:00am, Md Faruk Ahamed, officer-in-charge of Tajumuddin Police Station (OC), told our Jhalakathi correspondent.
The deceased are: Ranu Begum, 50, of Daulatkhan upazila, Rekha Begum, 35, and Akram Hossain, 12, a class-VI student of the upazila, died on the spot, according to the local police.
COX’S BAZAR
At least three people were killed in Kutubdia coastal area this afternoon, our local correspondent reports quoting police.
AKM Fazlul Haq, 55, died after being wounded while getting down from a fishing trawler during the stormy weather at Koiarbil around 2:00pm, said Angsha Thoai, OC of the Kutubdia Police Station.
Another victim Md Iqbal alias Badal, 27, was killed in a house collapse, the OC said.
Body of one Fakir Alam, 50, was found floating in Tabelar Char of the Bay, said Saleh Tanvir Gazi, upazila nirbahi officer of Kutubdia.
The UNO said around 50 thousand people in the upazila have been affected in the cyclone.
Meanwhile, over 41 people were injured as gusty winds left hundreds of houses damaged and trees uprooted over the night in the coastal areas of Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Moheshkhali, Kutubdia and Ramu upazila.
At a press conference around 4:00pm, Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Hossain announced that the district is now out of danger.
The DC also instructed all UNOs to visit cyclone affected areas for preparing list of damage.
PATUAKHALI
A 50-year-old woman was killed as her house collapsed during the storm at Nijarabad Gopaldi village under Dashmina upazila in the district at 3:00am.
Naya Bibi died as her tin-shed house collapsed, Iqbal Mahmud Liton, chairman of Dashmina union Parishad, said.
Over 100 houses were also damaged this morning.