DHAKA, May 17- Cyclone Mahasen slammed into the Bangladesh coastlines after making landfall in a southernmost coastal district on Thursday morning, leaving a trail of devastation.
Shahin Sultana of Bangladesh’s National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) told Xinhua news agency Thursday evening that “the cyclone caused the deaths of 10 people in three districts.”
She feared that there could be more casualties. Many Bangladesh coasts have been battered by ferocious winds with speed up to 100 kph, which uprooted trees and homes, ripped roofs off buildings and caused widespread power and water outages.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) Thursday said the coast grazing cyclone moved northeastward further and would cross Bangladesh southeastern Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar coast by Thursday.
Heavy rain continued to lash most parts of Bangladesh including capital Dhaka since Thursday morning under the impact of cyclonic storm which made its first landfall in Khepupara under Patuakhali district, some 204 km south of capital Dhaka, Thursday at about 7: 00 a.m. (local time) as a category 1 storm with wind speeds up to 100 kph.
Amitabh Sarkar, the district’s administration chief, told Xinhua that there has been massive destruction of homes, crops and live stock according to initial reports.
Sultana said that “956,672 people had been taken to safe shelters in 14 coastal districts since Wednesday.” Dozens of villages in the districts have reportedly been flooded and many susceptible houses have been damaged fully or partially. Due to very heavy rainfall, BMD said landslide may occur at places over the hilly regions of Chittagong division.
– BERNAMA
