Muddy woodland roads littered with bodies, survivors horrified by cruelty of cyclone Sidr
Sunday, 18 November 2007
SARANKHOLA (Bagerhat), Nov 17 (UNB): Muddy woodland roads are littered with bodies, air became heavy and survivors benumbed by the cruel dance of Thursday night's cyclone "Sidr".
Losing their kith and kin mauled with the hungry claws of terrible tempest, villagers of Rajeswar, Rampal, Dublarchar are still searching in paddy fields, bushes or canals with forlorn hope to see if any one was alive.
Several bodies were found 2 to 3 kilometers away from their homes as the Sidr with a speed of 240kph blew them off.
Accompanying the storm a roaring 15-16-foot-high tidal surge from the turbulent sea washed these offshore islands of the Bay of Bengal. Relief goods are too scanty to meet the needs of those left destitute.
"Life in these backwater localities came to a standstill. Many people are virtually starving for the last two days of nightmare," says a spot account of the post-storm scenes.
UNB correspondent, while visiting the devastated areas, found 11 bodies scattered on the muddy roads. Many heads of cattle were seen floating in rivulets and canals flowing through Sundarbans that bore the brunt of the storm.
It is difficult to find any dry place for their burial as the villages got water logged after the tidal surge.
What happened to several thousand people who were shifted from Dublarchar cyclone shelters to small channels in the Sundarbans could not be known 48 hours after the horror of the hurricane. They were shifted to the channels as five cyclone centres could not accommodate them.
Unofficial sources put the death figure at more than 1,000 in the worst hit Sarankhola, Mongla, Rampal, Kachua, Chitalmari, Dublachar and Sundarban areas in Begerhat district that fell under the ferocious eye of the storm.
Survivors said that more than 200 people of four unions of Sarankhola Upazila alone perished under the nature's scourge.
Body of Saidur Rahman, a forest guard of Dublarchar Forest Station, who hailed from Sarankhola Upazila, was spotted today. Seven more forest officials went missing.
Abu Hanif, aged 60, who had also witnessed the devastating 1970 cyclone, said Thursday night's Sidr was more powerful than 71's. "Advance warnings from the met office helped us take shelter, but, still, the damage is colossal."
Navy, army, coastguard, police and officials are busy conducting rescue and relief operations, but the relief supplies appeared to be too scanty to meet the need of the destitute people in the backwoods.
A navy team buried 39 bodies in Dublarchar while a coastguard squad led by Capt Abidur Rahman rescued 180 storm-tossed people from the remote Kochikhali village.
Naval ship Turag reached the worst hit Dublarchar last night for rescue operation. Two more naval ships sailed from Mongla for the ravaged offshore islands to conduct rescue and relief operations.
Helicopters were also pressed into relief operation in the cyclone-hit districts, as the government pulled its strength to tackle the post-calamity situation.
Losing their kith and kin mauled with the hungry claws of terrible tempest, villagers of Rajeswar, Rampal, Dublarchar are still searching in paddy fields, bushes or canals with forlorn hope to see if any one was alive.
Several bodies were found 2 to 3 kilometers away from their homes as the Sidr with a speed of 240kph blew them off.
Accompanying the storm a roaring 15-16-foot-high tidal surge from the turbulent sea washed these offshore islands of the Bay of Bengal. Relief goods are too scanty to meet the needs of those left destitute.
"Life in these backwater localities came to a standstill. Many people are virtually starving for the last two days of nightmare," says a spot account of the post-storm scenes.
UNB correspondent, while visiting the devastated areas, found 11 bodies scattered on the muddy roads. Many heads of cattle were seen floating in rivulets and canals flowing through Sundarbans that bore the brunt of the storm.
It is difficult to find any dry place for their burial as the villages got water logged after the tidal surge.
What happened to several thousand people who were shifted from Dublarchar cyclone shelters to small channels in the Sundarbans could not be known 48 hours after the horror of the hurricane. They were shifted to the channels as five cyclone centres could not accommodate them.
Unofficial sources put the death figure at more than 1,000 in the worst hit Sarankhola, Mongla, Rampal, Kachua, Chitalmari, Dublachar and Sundarban areas in Begerhat district that fell under the ferocious eye of the storm.
Survivors said that more than 200 people of four unions of Sarankhola Upazila alone perished under the nature's scourge.
Body of Saidur Rahman, a forest guard of Dublarchar Forest Station, who hailed from Sarankhola Upazila, was spotted today. Seven more forest officials went missing.
Abu Hanif, aged 60, who had also witnessed the devastating 1970 cyclone, said Thursday night's Sidr was more powerful than 71's. "Advance warnings from the met office helped us take shelter, but, still, the damage is colossal."
Navy, army, coastguard, police and officials are busy conducting rescue and relief operations, but the relief supplies appeared to be too scanty to meet the need of the destitute people in the backwoods.
A navy team buried 39 bodies in Dublarchar while a coastguard squad led by Capt Abidur Rahman rescued 180 storm-tossed people from the remote Kochikhali village.
Naval ship Turag reached the worst hit Dublarchar last night for rescue operation. Two more naval ships sailed from Mongla for the ravaged offshore islands to conduct rescue and relief operations.
Helicopters were also pressed into relief operation in the cyclone-hit districts, as the government pulled its strength to tackle the post-calamity situation.