Chattogram sees one death, heavy damage after cyclone

One person has died and heavy damage has been reported in several upazilas in Chattogram in the aftermath of Cyclone Hamoon. Two upazilas are completely without electricity as well.

Banshkhali Upazila has suffered serious damage due to the storm, said Jasmine Akhtar, the upazila’s executive officer. Trees felled by the storm have cut off road connectivity in several parts of the upazila, reports bdnews24.com.

 “An initial report says that one person died in Saral Union. About 85 others have been injured.”

The upazila does not have power, Akhtar said. Internal roads are closed as well. The local authority is still trying to collect all the information, she said.

Trees fell on several roads due to the storm winds last night, severing the road connection from Chattogram, said Kamal Uddin, chief of Banshkhali Police Station.

Police are working to remove the trees and restore road connections, he said.

Reports from Satkania Upazila said there was extensive damage, but no details were available.

Cyclone Hamun hit the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar coast on Tuesday evening. After pouring rain in Cox’s Bazar, the cyclone turned into a low pressure system at around 1:00 pm.

The storm disrupted power in several areas including Satkania, Banshkhali, Chandanaish, Lohagara since Tuesday night.

Though the electricity was restored in some upazilas, Banshkhali and Chandanaish are still without power, said Dilip Chandra Chowdhury, senior general manager and engineer at the Chattogram Rural Power Council-1.

All upazilas in south Chattogram, with the exception of Boalkhali Upazila, reported damage from the cyclone, he said. However, more information on damages had come in from Banskhali Upazila.

Dilip said that trees had fallen in different areas and connection lines were severed. Electric poles were also uprooted or damaged in many places.

Power lines have been damaged in Satkania Upazila, but its source line has been restarted, he said. However, it is not fully operational yet. The Banshkhali and Chandanaish upazilas are completely disconnected, he said.

Md Saifullah Mazumdar, the relief and rehabilitation officer for the Chattogram district, said that news had come in of damage in many places, but details were scarce. Due to lack of power in certain areas, mobile networks have also been disrupted, which is making it difficult to collect information, he said.