Remal claims 10 lives, damages over 1.5 lakh houses

The cyclonic storm Remal, which made landfall in Bangladesh's coastal area on Sunday night, has so far claimed 10 lives, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibbur Rahman.

Besides, 150,457 houses were damaged during the storm. Of these, 35,483 houses were fully damaged in 107 unions and 914 municipalities, said the state minister while speaking at a press briefing held at the Secretariat on Monday (May 27).

Among the deceased, three died in Bhola and Barisal districts each, and one each in Satkhira, Khulna, Chittagong and Patuakhali districts.

Nineteen districts have been affected during the storm, he said. These are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jhalakathi, Barishal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola, Feni, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Narail, Gopalganj, Shariatpur and Jessore.

A total of 9,424 shelters have been opened in the coastal districts of the country and over 800,000 people took shelter there, he said.

Besides, 52,146 domestic animals were also housed there.

He also claimed that no major damage had occurred due to massive preparation taken by the ministry following the directives of the prime minister.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,471 medical teams were formed to provide treatment to the people in the cyclone-hit areas and of them, 1,400 remain active.
Tk6.85 crore has been allocated to the affected people. Tk 3.85 crore, 5,500 tons of rice, 5,000 dry foods, Tk1.50 crore for baby food and Tk1.50 crore for fodder have been distributed in 15 districts, said the minister.

Talking about the prime minister’s visit to the cyclone affected areas, the state minister said: “We have heard that and for this, contact was made with the Prime Minister’s Office. We will let you know when the program is finalized.”

Cyclone Remal completed its landfall and weakened to a land depression over Bangladesh on Monday, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.