Sitrang whips through south and beyond

At least nine people died in six districts with eight of them crushed under tree branches and another under collapsed wall amid stormy weather as Cyclone Sitrang hit Bangladesh coast last night.

Formed in the Bay, Sitrang weakened after landfall around 9:00pm though the Met office had forecast it would turn into a severe cyclonic storm.

However, as of filing this report around 1:45am today, coastal districts were experiencing disruptions to road and power links; heavy damage to houses and crops was also being feared.

Throughout yesterday, they witnessed heavy rainfall with fierce winds and a storm surge as high as 5 to 8 feet, according to the Met officials.

The Met office last night said the maximum wind speed was 88km per hour as against 110kmph projected earlier.

After making the landfall between Bhola and Sandwip, the storm would progressively weaken into a deep depression, depression and a low pressure late today, weather officials forecast earlier.

Throughout the day, the authorities raced to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people while Sitrang was approaching Bangladesh coast from the Bay.

All the people were being moved to safety from the cyclone's path, said Enamur Rahman, state minister for disaster management and relief, yesterday.

The nine who died included three members of a family -- the father, mother and daughter -- killed in Hesakhal Paschimpara of Cumilla's Nangalkot upazila as tree branches fell on them, confirmed UNO Raihan Mehbub.

A 37-year-old woman in Narail, another woman and a man in Bhola's Doulatkhan and Char Fashion, a 65-year-old woman in Shariatpur and another elderly woman in Barguna died the same way.

In the capital, a rickshaw-puller was crushed to death in Dhaka's Hazaribagh yesterday evening after a wall collapsed due to speedy winds owing to Sitrang.

Two others, the passenger of the rickshaw and a motorcyclist, were injured in the incident, said Inspector Bachchu Miah, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost.

Later at night, at least 13 trawlers capsized in the Bay. However, the casualties could not be known immediately.

Our correspondents from Patuakhali, Barishal, Khulna, Pirojpur, Bagerhat Cox's Bazar, Noakhali and Chattogram report that all the low-lying areas in the coastal region were inundated amid heavy rainfall and tidal surges.

"The situation worsened in the evening -- strong winds and very heavy rainfall here. We are rushing towards the cyclone shelter," Pankaj Shil from Hatiya, a southern island, told The Daily Star.

Aid workers have stockpiled emergency items such as food, tarpaulins and water purification tablets in refugee camps housing more than a million Rohingya in flimsy shelters in Cox's Bazar.

According to the central control room of the fire service in Dhaka, around 600 roadside trees fell in different districts, blocking roads.

Briefing reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting yesterday afternoon, State Minister Enamur Rahman said, "We gave shelter to 24 lakh people during Cyclone Amphan. This time we aimed to shift 25 lakh people."

"Sitrang has turned into a cyclone and will hit the land in the evening," he said, citing weather experts from the Meteorological Department.

The centre of the cyclone will cross through Barguna and Patuakhali districts, he said, adding that 13 districts of Chattogram, Barishal and Khulna will be affected very badly.

The districts are Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Jhalakathi, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Noakhali and Feni. Barguna and Patuakhali could be worst-hit.

Assistance has been sought from the armed forces division to help evacuate people from the remote areas, added the state minister.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the authorities to take all-out preparations to protect lives and properties from the impending severe cyclone.

The Meteorological Department asked maritime ports Mongla and Payra to raise their alert due to the inclement weather.

Three airlines -- Biman Bangladesh, US-Bangla and Novoair -- cancelled 60 domestic flights to three destinations because of the cyclone.

The airports in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and Barishal will remain closed till noon today.

The Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) has decided to shut down all operations of these three airports from 3:00pm yesterday to noon today, according to a press release.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Coronation (BIWTC) yesterday suspended operations of ferry services across the country.

Besides, operations of all types of water transports remained suspended since yesterday morning due to inclement weather, said an official of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education directed the authorities to use all secondary school and colleges as temporary shelters in areas to be hit by the cyclone.

In 2020, Cyclone Amphan, only the second "super cyclone" ever recorded over the Bay of Bengal, killed more than 100 people in Bangladesh and India, and affected millions.

Last year, more than a million people were evacuated along India's east coast before Cyclone Yaas battered the area with winds gusting up to 155 kilometres an hour -- equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

[With inputs from Reuters and AFP]