Cox’s Bazar: The destructive cyclone ‘Hamun’ has unleashed its fury in Cox’s Bazar, starting on Tuesday evening (October 24) after sunset, with a powerful hurricane-force wind. It has become a nearly two-hour sustained event, especially in the coastal areas near the sea, where the intensity of the wind was very high. The latest news reports confirm that due to the rampage of Cyclone Hamun, Abdul Khalek was crushed under the pressure of a house in the foothills of Cox’s Bazar city, and Asgar Ali (50) was crushed by a tree in Chakaria. One person has died due to the collapse of a mud wall in Maheshkhali.
Confirming the death of one person, Mohammad Shahin Imran, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cox’s Bazar district, said. On the other hand, Mayor Mahabubur Rahman of Cox’s Bazar Municipal Corporation stated that in Ward No. 7 of Cox’s Bazar Municipal Corporation, Abdul Khalek (40) was killed when a wall of a semi-pucca house collapsed around 9 pm in the Banglabazar and Khurulia area. In the Maheshkhali Upazila of Maheshkhali, around 8:00 pm at night, Haradhon De (45) was killed by a tree falling in front of his house. Mahfuzul Haque, a health worker in Maheshkhali Upazila, confirmed that Haradhon suffered a head injury from the falling tree. He died before reaching the hospital. In addition, six more people injured by falling trees have been treated in the hospital.
On the other hand, due to the strong wind, transportation on various roads, including the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway, was disrupted. Saif Uddin, a resident of the Banglabazar area in Cox’s Bazar city, said that around 8:00 p.m., two large trees on the road in the Banglabazar and Khurulia areas collapsed, causing a disruption in transportation. Many long-distance buses got stuck for hours from far and wide. At around 10:00 p.m., road traffic resumed.
Nurul Islam, a resident of the Dariya Nagar area of Cox’s Bazar city, said that at around 7:00 p.m., a strong wind started blowing continuously for about two hours. The windstorm caused damage to several houses in that area. Merin Drive Road was blocked due to fallen trees, causing communication disruption. Numerous trees have fallen on the road from Kolatoli to Teknaf.
He said that the speed of this year’s wind was the highest we have seen in the last 10 years. Although there was a hurricane on October 24 last year, there was not as much intensity of wind as this year.
Bibhishan Kantidas, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) of Cox’s Bazar district, said that news of damage is coming from various upazilas, especially the coastal upazilas of Maheshkhali, Kutubdia, and Pekua. However, the extent of damage will be known after the damage assessment is completed. Meanwhile, an additional Tk 50,000 and 14 metric tons of rice has been allocated for the affected upazilas for disaster relief.
In addition, red flags have been raised at various beach points to warn tourists. Laborers are hiking on the beach to keep tourists from swimming.
On the other hand, in the Rohingya camps, preparations have been made for various emergency situations. Mr. Mizanur Rahman, Commissioner of the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar, said that in the event of a cyclone, the SIC offices, permanent installations, are kept ready inside the camps so that they can come immediately if the situation worsens. However, Rohingya leaders say that there has been no significant damage to the Rohingya camps.
