The weather system in the Bay of Bengal which lingered for a really long time along the Indian coastline intensified into a cyclonic storm and made landfall over Bangladesh on Saturday. While the system has currently weakened into a well-marked low and is expected to fade away soon, while in Bangladesh, Roanu battered the country with very heavy rains.
The cyclone hit Bangladesh bringing in inches of rain and high velocity winds over the coastal region of the country. So much so that at least 21 people have been killed and much damage to property has also been assessed.
Areas including Chiitagong and Barisal were most affected. Here, hundreds of houses were damaged and many trees were also uprooted. Land inundation took place in coastal areas leading to displacement of around 5 lakh people.
Heavy rains also resulted in landslides which further disrupted road communications. Power cuts were also reported over several areas.
Bangladesh’s location close to the sea makes it vulnerable to cyclones. Whenever a cyclone forms in the Bay of Bengal and recurves to Northeast India, it targets Bangladesh causing immense damage over the region.
In the year 1991, a deadly cyclone had hit Bangladesh and killed around 1,40,000 people. Around 10 million people were left homeless.
Image Credit: guardian.com
Inputs from CNN.com
