243 dead as cyclone Sidr rips through Bangladesh

Dhaka: At least 243 people have been reported dead after a powerful cyclone ripped through Bangladesh, wiping out homes and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives, officials said on Friday.

The eye of cyclone Sidr, shown in satellite images as a huge swirling white mass that raced up the Bay of Bengal, crashed into the coast on Thursday night before sweeping north towards the capital Dhaka.

Wind speeds of 220-240 km (140-155 miles) an hour, huge tidal waves and torrential rains were recorded in what officials described as one of the biggest storms to hit the low-lying and impoverished nation in years.

“The death toll has risen to 243. We expect the number will rise further,” said Nahid Sultana, of the control room at the ministry of relief and disaster management.

Most deaths were caused by trees crushing flimsy homes.

In central Madaripur district, an AFP reporter saw village after village devastated. Thousands of shacks made of bamboo and tin were flattened.

Madaripur shopkeeper Nazrul Islam, 40, said his house had been razed by the strength of the wind and rain.

“It was a terrible night. I have never seen such a huge storm in my life. My house has collapsed and hundreds of others have also been blown away,” he said. “I cannot describe how devastating it was. It was like doomsday, the most frightening five hours of my life. I thought I would never see my family again,” small businessman Mollik Tariqur Rahman, 40, told AFP by telephone from southwestern Bagerhat district, one of the worst-hit areas.

“There is a trail of destruction everywhere; we can’t even detect exactly where our houses were built, only a few are left and they do not have roofs,” he said.

Telephone lines and power supplies were also cut.

“The electricity went off across the entire country from 8 am. We are trying to restore it but it will take until the evening,” said Mohammad Iqbal Hossen of Bangladesh’s energy ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of people spent the night in special shelters in a bid to avoid the massive casualties of previous major cyclones.

Experts described Sidr as similar in strength to the 1991 storm that triggered a tidal wave that killed an estimated 138,000 people.

Source: mumbaimirror.com