Post by EZWarren on May 21, 2020 8:57:00 GMT 10
Millions are in darkness in Bangladesh's coastal districts after fierce winds and rains triggered by cyclone Amphan snapped the power supply to the region, according to the head of Bangladesh's Rural Electricity Board.
Power connection to more than 5 million households have been snapped because of the storm, said Moin Uddin.
"We don't know exactly the extent of damage, but it seems the loss is colossal," he told DPA by phone, noting reports that there many electric poles were uprooted in the southern districts.
One of the most powerful storms over the Bay of Bengal in recent years lashed India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing at least five people, and forcing more than 3 million to relocate.
The "extremely severe cyclonic storm" Amphan made landfall on the coast of the state of West Bengal on Wednesday afternoon with wind speeds of up to 185 kilometres per hour, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Kolkata, the regional capital, was pounded with rains and fierce winds reaching 120 kph, with reports of damage to infrastructure.
Millions were hunkering down in their homes and storm shelters in India and Bangladesh as powerful winds uprooted trees, destroyed informal housing and toppled electricity poles.
Two people died in Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal after trees fell on them during the storm, an official at the district disaster control room said.
A 13-year-old girl died after being struck by a tin roof in Howrah district, local media reported. In neighbouring Odisha state, disaster management chief PK Jena said they had received reports that a three-month-old baby had died in a wall collapse.
In Bangladesh, a 70-year-old man died after a tree fell on him in the southern island district of Bhola, government official Zaynal Abedin said.
Amphan was hitting the Sunderbans, a vast mangrove forest straddling the India-Bangladesh border and was expected to move into Bangladesh by late Wednesday night.
Meteorologists said Amphan had caused large-scale damage with tidal waves, severe flooding and mudslides in the Sundarbans area.
The cyclone produced a storm surge of up to 4.3 metres, pushing sea water as far as 17 kilometres inland, destroying crops and homes, according to the IMD.
Three offshore Bangladesh islands, home to more than 50,000 people, were inundated by a tidal surge.
Power connection to more than 5 million households have been snapped because of the storm, said Moin Uddin.
"We don't know exactly the extent of damage, but it seems the loss is colossal," he told DPA by phone, noting reports that there many electric poles were uprooted in the southern districts.
One of the most powerful storms over the Bay of Bengal in recent years lashed India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing at least five people, and forcing more than 3 million to relocate.
The "extremely severe cyclonic storm" Amphan made landfall on the coast of the state of West Bengal on Wednesday afternoon with wind speeds of up to 185 kilometres per hour, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Kolkata, the regional capital, was pounded with rains and fierce winds reaching 120 kph, with reports of damage to infrastructure.
Millions were hunkering down in their homes and storm shelters in India and Bangladesh as powerful winds uprooted trees, destroyed informal housing and toppled electricity poles.
Two people died in Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal after trees fell on them during the storm, an official at the district disaster control room said.
A 13-year-old girl died after being struck by a tin roof in Howrah district, local media reported. In neighbouring Odisha state, disaster management chief PK Jena said they had received reports that a three-month-old baby had died in a wall collapse.
In Bangladesh, a 70-year-old man died after a tree fell on him in the southern island district of Bhola, government official Zaynal Abedin said.
Amphan was hitting the Sunderbans, a vast mangrove forest straddling the India-Bangladesh border and was expected to move into Bangladesh by late Wednesday night.
Meteorologists said Amphan had caused large-scale damage with tidal waves, severe flooding and mudslides in the Sundarbans area.
The cyclone produced a storm surge of up to 4.3 metres, pushing sea water as far as 17 kilometres inland, destroying crops and homes, according to the IMD.
Three offshore Bangladesh islands, home to more than 50,000 people, were inundated by a tidal surge.
