Massive Tidal surge floods Bangladesh coastal villages
Pastor Dale Morgan
Massive Tidal surge floods Bangladesh coastal villages*
15 May 2007 05:16:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
DHAKA, May 15 (Reuters) - Hundreds of houses were damaged in a
storm-triggered tidal surge from the Bay of Bengal in coastal districts
and off-shore islands in Bangladesh on Tuesday, officials said.
Weather officials said the storm, with winds of up to 80 kph (50 mph),
crossed the Bangladesh coast at dawn, heading east towards Myanmar.
Crops and many shrimp farms were washed away in the 4-foot (1.2 metre)
high surge in the wake of the storm, but it did not cause as much damage
as initially feared, the officials said.
The storm and accompanying rain cut off power and uprooted trees, while
the tidal surge swamped some road networks, a disaster management
official said.
One fisherman was confirmed killed and about 100 others aboard 20
fishing boats were reported missing, officials in the coastal district
of Cox's Bazar said.
Bangladesh went on cyclone alert on Monday, with officials warning the
storm in the Bay of Bengal could trigger a tidal surge two metres high.
Nearly 80,000 people were evacuated to cyclone shelters.
Tropical storms and cyclones kill hundreds of Bangladeshis every year.
One of the worst cyclones to hit the country killed 138,000 people in 1991.
(Additional reporting by Nizam Ahmed and Nurul Islam in Cox's Bazar)