United News of Bangladesh

As many as 15 houses were gutted in a massive fire in Reserve Bazar Mohsin Colony area of Rangamati town on Saturday, officials said. The fire broke out at a house in the Mohsin Colony around 12:30pm on Saturday and soon engulfed  adjacent houses, said Md Iqbal Hossain, station officer of Rangamati District Fire Service. Read more: 16 shops gutted in Khulna market fire On information, three fire tenders rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after an hour, he said "The reason behind the fire could not be known immediately." No injury or casualty was reported. Read more: 15 shops gutted in Natore fire However, it's not possible to immediately assess the extent of damage caused by the fire.

Around 10,000 houses in 419 unions in Bangladesh were damaged by Cyclone Sitrang that hit the coastal districts Monday (Octover 25, 2022) night, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman said today. Sitrang did not turn into a severe cyclone and crossed the coastal areas quickly, the state minister said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat regarding the aftermath of the cyclone. Read: Sitrang aftermath: Some areas in southern districts still without power “We have been able to provide shelter to 10 lakh people at 6,925 cyclone shelters. Cyclone Sitrang weakened quickly after hitting the coastal districts at 10 pm last night,” said Enamur. People have already left the shelters, he added. The state minister also said nine deaths have so far been reported after Cyclone Sitrang hit the country. Read: Cyclone Sitrang kills at least 16 across Bangladesh Cyclone Sitrang completed its landfall and weakened to a tropical depression over Bangladesh early Tuesday, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

The local administration has estimated a loss of Tk 60 crore in damage caused by Cyclone Yaas in the coastal areas of Khulna district. Due to the impact of the cyclone, many houses, fish enclosures, some 100 kilometres of embankments and crop lands were damaged. Read: Cyclone Yaas disrupts normal life in 23 chars of Bhola The experts have estimated that the combined damage is worth up to Tk 60 crore. In Koyra upazila, 50 villages under four unions of the district have been flooded by the river water while the tidal surge entered the localities through 11 points of the flood-protection embankment as the water levelof Kapotakkho, Koyra and Shakbaria rivers increased 6-7 feet above the normal level. The local administration of Koyra upazila alone said the losses caused by the cyclone amount to Tk 35 crore. Fish farmers of the upazila are the worst affected as fish of some 2550 hectares of shrimp enclosures and ponds have been washed away, counting a loss of fish worth Tk 15 crore. Besides, the tidal surge inundated many low-lying areas of the upazila as embankments in many points including Dashhalia, Mathbari, Tetultala char, Angtihara, Gobra, Ghatakhali, Koyra headquarters, Katkata, Kashir Hatkhola, Katmarchar, Pabna, Kashir Khal, Hogla, Uttar Bedkashi, Gatir Gheri, Shakbaria, Noyani and Khorolkati have been damaged. GM Abdullah Al Mamun, chairman of Maharazpur union, said “The volunteers have repaired the risky points of the embankments but they failed to protect villages and the tidal surge entered into the locality through many points of the embankments.” Read: Yaas: How Bhasan Char prepared for the cyclone Sagar Hossain Soikat, project implementation officer of Koyra upazila, said “Thirty-five villages in the upazila have been flooded due to the impact of Cyclone Yaas, rendering 25,000 people marooned. We have made a list of the damaged things and we found Tk 35 crore damage.” Besides, 7050 houses were damaged during the cyclonic storm. Of these, 50 houses were fully damaged, 1200 houses were damaged partially and 5,800 houses were slightly damaged, said Sagar Hossain. Animesh Biswas, Koyra Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), said necessary assistance will be provided to the affected people. In Paikgachcha upazila, 86 kilometres of roads of ten unions and a municipality have been damaged while 28 kilometres of the embankment was partially damaged. Some 660 hectares of shrimp enclosures have been washed away, incurring a loss of Tk 1.15 crore. Besides, 10,000 people have been affected by the cyclone. Read:Cyclone Yaas: 4 teams formed to assess damage in the Sundarbans Imrul Kayesh, project implementation officer of the upazila, said a number of villages were inundated by the tidal surge. According to the sources in Dakope upazila, 200 hectares of fish enclosures were washed away and 34 kilometres of road, 24 kiloometre embankment, 15 mosques, five temples, and 2,828 houses were damaged. The overall estimate of losses caused by the cyclone in the upazila is Tk 11.27 crore.