Total word number: 699

The Condition of Coastal Flooding Occurred Due to The

Cyclone Amphan

A cyclone is a general term for a weather system in which winds rotate inwardly to
an area of low atmospheric pressure. For large weather systems, the circulation
pattern is in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a
clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. Present day Bangladesh, due to
its unique geographic location, suffers from devastating tropical cyclones
frequently.
During Bangladesh and India are fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, a
deadly tropical cyclone caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically
West Bengal and also Bangladesh, named Cyclonic Amphan. On 13May 2020,
Amphan originated from a low-pressure area persisting a couple hundred miles
(300 km) east of Colombo (Sri Lanka). For ages, cyclones have remained the
deadliest and most hazardous disaster for human populations, other species and
resources. The Sundarbans have once again acted as a biological protective shield
against cyclones and typhoons, as observed through its resistance against the
severe cyclonic storm Amphan. But a lot of damage happened because of it.
People living in coastal areas always live with extreme uncertainties, risk,
vulnerabilities and carry on with sealed fates as they have to face frequent
disasters. According to the US Pacific Disaster Center, Amphan's forecast track
placed 38.9 million people in Bangladesh and India at risk of exposure to the storm
winds.
In Bangladesh, with the cyclone causing an estimated 11 billion Taka in damage,
over a million people were affected by Amphan across nine districts in the
divisions of Khulna and Barisal. At least twenty people died in storm-related
incidents. West Bengal, the epicenter of the cyclone's landfall, saw the most
widespread damage from Amphan. At least 86 people died in West Bengal, most
of the fatalities were due to electrocution or the collapse of homes. The storm
caused at least 1 trillion Rupia in damage and directly affected 70 percent of the
state's population. In Southern India, the tiled roof of the Vaikom Mahadeva
Temple was damaged by these winds. The storm caused at least 1.47 billion Rupia
in damage and the partial damage of 313 homies.
The United Nations office in Bangladesh estimates 10 million people were
affected, and some 500,000 people may have lost their homes all over Bangladesh,
India, Sri-Lanka, Bhutan. Five million people are without power. There has been
heavy damage, especially in southwestern Bangladesh in the Sundarbans mangrove
forest which got the direct hit, thousands of houses have been washed away due to
the tidal surge. People are definitely going to lose croplands and fisheries. That
area is known for shrimp culture and other aquaculture, so these people are going
to lose their livelihood. Authorities in eastern India and Bangladesh have been
struggling to restore road links, communication lines and electricity. At least 10
million people were without power on Thursday afternoon in the worst-hit districts
of Bangladesh. The storm levelled more than 55,000 homes - most made of tin,
mud and bamboo across Bangladesh. Cyclone Amphan unleashed torrential rain
and storm surges in low-lying coastal areas that burst embankments protecting
villages in the Ganges delta. Winds, gusting up to 185km/h (115mph), wrecked
mudwalled houses. The cyclone weakened as it moved north through Bangladesh
but still unleashed heavy rain and fierce winds in Cox's Bazar, the district which
houses about one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Khulna was most
affected, while reports of flooding due to dam breaches also came from Barishal
and Chattogram. The cyclonic storm caused around 60% network towers (13,000
in number) of the region to be cut off the power supply. 150 kilometers of
embankments in 84 places have been either damaged or completely broke. Water
that broke through the embankments affected 1,80,500.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief in Bangladesh approved a 2.5–3
billion taka budget to repair embankments damaged by Amphan. Another 1.5
billion taka was distributed to each district heavily impacted by the storm, along
with 500 bundles of corrugated tin sheets. International development organization,
BRAC disbursed 30 million taka to low-income families in 10 upazilas, with 5,000
taka per family. The organization also distributed gloves, masks, and sanitizers to
Bagerhat, Khulna, and Satkhira districts.