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The Department of Agricultural Extension says nearly 171,109 hectares of farmland have been damaged by the impact of Cyclone Remal and the subsequent heavy rain.
An initial assessment of the damage on May 26 and May 27 was provided by Kamrul Islam, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.
The agricultural impact of the cyclone was felt in 48 districts, the DAE report said. The damage was particularly severe in six coastal districts – Barishal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Patuakhali, Barguna, and Bhola - four districts in the Khulna Division – Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, and Norail – and three districts in the Chattogram Division – Noakhali, Lakshmipur, and Cox’s Bazar.
It will take seven to eight days to determine the full extent of the damage, ministry spokesperson Islam said.
The losses incurred in agriculture on last Sunday and Monday include-
>>The amount of current standing cropland in the districts is over 1.4 million hectares and the amount of affected cropland is 171,109 hectares.
>>During the cyclone, 10,843 hectares of seedbed of Aush; 21,434 hectares of Aush paddy; 7,730 hectares of Boro paddy; 4,826 hectares of Aman paddy; 52,190 hectares of summer vegetables; 29,749 hectares of jute; 7,536 hectares of sesame; 3,507 hectares of mung bean and 2,444 hectares of betel leaves were damaged.
>> In fruits, 4,708 hectares of mango, 1,575 hectares of lychee, and 7,613 hectares of banana plantation were damaged.
On May 22, a low-pressure area formed in the east-central and adjoining west-central parts of the Bay of Bengal which turned slowly into a well-marked low-pressure, then a depression, a deep depression and finally a cyclonic storm on Saturday evening.
The storm, named Remal, turned into a severe cyclonic storm early on Sunday and lashed coastal areas with heavy rain and strong winds. It crossed the Bangladesh coast on Monday night, leading to rain across the country before it weakened into a depression on Tuesday.
Around 16 people were killed by tidal surges, collapsing walls and falling trees, or on the way to storm shelters.
Remal affected nearly 4.5 million people, completely destroyed 40,338 houses and partially damaged 133,528 more, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief said.