Coastal people survive Komen scare

Two more lives perished, around two lakh people were marooned and hundreds of houses damaged as the weakened tropical storm Komen crossed Chittagong and Cox's Bazar coasts early yesterday before turning into a land depression.

Different parts of the country, including the capital, saw heavy rain throughout the day due to the depression and, the met office says it was likely to continue today as well.

"Many areas including Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong may experience heavy showers tomorrow [today] due to the Komen's impact. The intensity of rain may reduce on Sunday [tomorrow]," a met department official told The Daily Star yesterday.

In Chittagong, a driver and a passenger of a CNG-run three-wheeler died after the vehicle plunged into a roadside open drain at Agrabad C&B Colony yesterday.

Driver Mahbubur Rahman, 35, hailed from Gaibandha and passenger Firoz Khan, 55, a service holder, from Sherpur.

The road went under knee-deep water due to incessant rain and tidal surges, making it impossible for the driver to distinguish the road from the drain. The three-wheeler fell into the drain at 12:10pm while making way for another vehicle perhaps, said ASM Nurul Alam Talukder, officer-in-charge of Double Mooring Police Station.

With this, a total of eight people died in the coastal region in various incidents triggered by the cyclonic storm in the past three days.

Scores of houses were damaged and about 6,800 families affected in Sandwip and Anwara upazilas of Chittagong, according to the district administration.

In Banshkhali upazila alone, 175 houses were fully damaged and 275 partially, and about 75,300 people have been affected by the cyclone.

"But no casualty was reported," said Mohammad Rajeeb-Ul-Ahsan, assistant commissioner and executive magistrate of Chittagong.

At least 50 villages in Takenaf, Moheshkhali, Kutubdia, Pekua and Chakoria upazilas of Cox's Bazar and 10 in Noakhali's Hatiya were flooded after several thousand metres of flood protection embankments there was washed away due to high tide and heavy rainfall, reports our correspondents.

Around 60 thousand people are affected in Pekua alone, said Bahadur Shah, chairman of upazila Sadar union.

Chairman Shahidul Mostofa of Magma union parishad said the flood protection embankment in his area was damaged at six points and around a thousand houses were flooded.

The situation in Cox's Bazar further worsened last night as huge tidal surges from around 8:30pm started flooding more areas.

However, vessel movement in all internal river routes resumed around 10:00am yesterday around 24 hours after it had been closed for Komen, said Chairman Mozammel Haque of Bangladesh Water Transport Authority.

Loading and unloading of goods at Chittagong port resumed yesterday but only at the jetties, not at the outer anchorage, the port authorities said.

FISHERMEN STILL MISSING

Nineteen fishermen, who went missing in the Bay on Wednesday, were yet to be traced.

"Seven of my fishing trawlers went to the sea on Monday from Chittagong Fish Landing Station. As the weather became rough, five of the trawlers returned to the station on Wednesday night but the ones commanded by Abu Majhi of Noakhali and Salauddin Majhi of Bhola's Monpura have not return yet. There were 19 fishermen in those trawlers," said Mostofa Kamal, owner of the missing trawlers.

He, however, could not confirm if the trawlers had capsized.

Operation Officer Lieutenant Arif of the Coast Guard (South Zone) said that they were trying to locate the missing trawlers.