Floods and tears in Bangladesh a week after cyclone

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Volunteers and residents work to repair a damaged dam following the landfall of cyclone Amphan in Burigoalini on May 21, 2020. – At least 84 people died as the fiercest cyclone to hit parts of Bangladesh and eastern India this century sent trees flying and flattened houses, with millions crammed into shelters despite the risk of coronavirus. (Photo by Munir uz Zaman / AFP)

by Sam Jahan and Kazi Santo
Agence France-Presse

KHULNA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Rezaul Islam wades through waist-high water, a sack of rice on his head salvaged from what remains of his home, a week after a cyclone savaged Bangladesh and eastern India.

The strongest storm to hit the area this century killed more than 100 people, flattening entire villages, uprooting trees and ruining fish ponds in the Indian state of West Bengal, and south-west Bangladesh.

“We are trying to salvage whatever we can,” 17-year-old Islam told AFP, his house still half-submerged in water left by storm surges unleashed by Cyclone Amphan.

Villagers repair their house damaged by cyclone Amphan in Satkhira on May 21, 2020. – The strongest cyclone in decades slammed into Bangladesh and eastern India on May 20, sending water surging inland and leaving a trail of destruction as the death toll rose to at least nine. (Photo by Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

With homes destroyed or uninhabitable, more than 200,000 people in India and at least 100,000 in Bangladesh remain crammed into cyclone shelters — often with little regard to coronavirus precautions.

The most damage caused by Amphan was from the accompanying storm surge, which wrecked several hundred kilometres (miles) of embankments that are supposed to protect homes and farms in low-lying coastal areas.

Locals worked through the night when the cyclone hit, desperately trying to shore up levees with sandbags.

It was mostly to no avail.

Tens of thousands of acres of farmland, fruit plantations and farms have been devastated by the saltwater.

An aerial view shows volunteers and residents working to repair a damaged dam following the landfall of cyclone Amphan in Burigoalini on May 21, 2020. – At least 84 people died as the fiercest cyclone to hit parts of Bangladesh and eastern India this century sent trees flying and flattened houses, with millions crammed into shelters despite the risk of coronavirus. (Photo by Munir uz Zaman / AFP)

Roofs ripped off

In the Bangladeshi town of Koira, thousands like Islam have been trying for days to retrieve belongings from what remains of their homes in the now-desolate landscape.

Many buildings had roofs ripped off by the 165-kilometre-per-hour (100-mile-an-hour) winds of Amphan.

Wells for drinking water have also been polluted and locals are now reliant on the army to deliver supplies.

“I could not salvage anything. All valuable items and furniture have rotted,” said wizened 71-year-old widow Nosimon Begum.

The devastation goes beyond destroyed homes.

Villagers repair their house damaged by cyclone Amphan in Satkhira on May 22, 2020. – Bangladesh began a massive clean-up on May 21 after the fiercest cyclone since 1999 killed at least 95 people, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. (Photo by Munir Uz zaman / AFP)

Shrimp and crab farming in the area are vital to the Bangladeshi economy — second only to the manufacture of garments for global brands like H&M.

Sanjay Mondol said even before the cyclone, he had lost almost $1 million after the coronavirus pandemic stopped his exports of crabs to customers in China and elsewhere.

The cooperative of around 300 farmers he belongs to saw more than 2,000 acres of washed away by the tidal surge.

“This storm has now broken our backbone. We now have no choice but to beg in the streets,” Mondol said, tears welling up his eyes.

© Agence France-Presse