Delta of the deadvisits Bagerhat district, one of the worst-affected cyclone-hit areas in the country and discovers how people are living without food, without water, without a roof, dead human, animals and trees surrounding them, absence of aid and being cheated of relief and finally, to compound their miseries, the fear of tigers
illustration Shibu Kumar Shill photos Andrew Biraj/Sanaul Haque/Focusbangla
The victims of hurricane SIDR which left thousands dead and many more thousands homeless, now live under the open sky, under inhuman conditions, without food, water and shelter. Along the shores of Baleshwar River towards Shoronkhola in Bagerhat district – one of the worst cyclone hit regions- the sight of human and animal corpses floating around has become a common scene. There is a sinister silence, which often breaks in a loud cry, howling and tears of a family as they are recovering dead bodies of their family members.
Those who are still alive on the broken embankment of Shonatola village of Southkhali union in Shoronkhola not only face the very real risk of starvation and no shelter but must also now consider the fact that hungry Royal Bengal Tigers are prowling in nearby villages. Drawn to the stench of dead human and animal bodies - the tigers now pose a threat to the homeless.
‘Not only have we not received any food supplies since Monday (November 19) but now, those of us who are alive are running for our lives like mad, as tigers are coming out from the forest, smelling dead bodies of human and cattle,’ said Ilias, a resident of Shonatola village on the night of November 21 over the telephone while one could hear the cries of hundreds of people in the background.
‘We have already fired four rounds of shots and have successfully gotten rid of the tigers trying to attack these villagers,’ assured boatman Enayet Hossain of the forest department later that night.
The cyclone Sidr ripped through the southwestern coast on November 15, killing over 2997 people till date and demolishing houses, crops, vegetables and trees alike along its trail of devastation over an area of thousands of square kilometres.
Packing winds over 220km an hour, the fierce tropical storm roared across the shoreline after it hit landfall at the Khulna-Barisal coast at 7:30pm that day, cutting off all communications and utility services across the country.
The cyclone left its mark of devastation on 133 upazilas, 962 unions, affecting 31.44 lakh population of about 8.87 lakh families. The storm killed 2.42 lakh livestock and completely destroyed crops on 23,122-acre land including six lakh metric tons of Aman. According to the estimate, 2.73 lakhs houses were totally flattened, with 58km roads totally destroyed and another 1,363km damaged.
The shrimp farms at the badly-hit Morolgonj and Sharankhola upazilas in Bagherhat were extensively damaged, with the financial loss expected to reach Tk 500cr.
The night, for most survivors, was horrifying.
‘There were announcements over the microphone about the number 10 signal, in the market, but we did not believe it as the one about the tsunami did not happen,’ says Md Milon Howlader, a businessman, who owns a phone-shop. ‘Most people thought it was a phoney announcement, and, we all thought that SIDR would hit on Wednesday night and did not expect anything on Thursday. It was very windy and gloomy from the morning, followed by drizzle and wind. But when it was 8:00 pm and we started to hear the wind roaring like a helicopter taking off, my relatives from the cyclone shelter called me to say that even the cyclone shelters are shaking’.
‘At around 9:00 pm, as I peered outside my house, I was left in disbelief when I saw my neighbours – husband and wife- thrown apart by the heavy wind. It was a horrifying scene where they were trying to save themselves but could not hold on to the branch of a tree and soon got washed away’, Milon added.
‘I too did not believe that it would be so devastating’, says Shahjahan Khan. ‘We were sleeping and did not quite realise what was going on outside. However, at 10:00 pm when my house started to shake vigorously, I came outside with my family and just found ourselves drowning. By then, the water had come up to my waist. We somehow managed to struggle and stay safe from the storm’.
The cyclone caused the country’s power system to collapse completely, triggering a knock-on effect on piped water supplies, telecommunication and filling station operations. It was not until the morning of November 17 that the first reports of devastation began to emerge.
‘When we reached Khulna on the morning of November 16, we were welcomed with fallen electric polls and trees. There was very little wind and the atmosphere was heavy with grief,’ recalls one photojournalist.
‘Almost all the ponds in sight were filled with dead fishes floating at the surface. We went to village Goara in Katakhali by bus from Mongla and saw four dead bodies. We assumed that there were no major casualties until we visited Rayenda and Tafalbari in Bagerhat the following day on November 17,’ says Khulna city resident Ismail.
‘The sight there was even more horrifying. There was very little light and three to four feet deep soggy mud. Cattle were dead all around and then we saw a huge line of graves where at least 70 dead bodies were laid to rest. Thousands of people were swarming the cyclone shelter in Tafalbari with dead bodies all around them.’
‘The people around were discussing stats and facts- who saw the largest number of corpses and who could identify the bodies.’
‘Moreover, when we thought that was it, news came that Shoronkhola is the worst hit area, where at least thousands of people were reported dead,’ added the photojournalist.
On November 18, traveling by trawler from Morolganj towards Rayenda Bazaar, Gabtola and Southkhali of Shoronkhola one could see scattered people sitting by the edge of the river, all in agony and shouting for help and relief. Acres and acres of land totally demolished – trees fallen, houses washed away, dead animals on the ground and floating in the river - devastating carnage left by SIDR. Villagers were terrified by the rumour that another cyclone- Nargis- was slated to hit the coastal area by the end of November.
At Rayenda Bazaar, local traders were in a state of extreme distress. They lost huge amounts of money during the disaster.
‘At least four to five members in a family of eight to ten people died or were swept away by the roaring waves,’ said Ramjan Ali. ‘It has been almost three days and we are yet to receive any food and aid. We have been living on contaminated water since the cyclone hit.’
They added that only the goods that were stored 10 feet above the ground could be saved.
‘Only six people survived in my family of ten and this area does not have enough cyclone shelters to give refuge to all the residents. One shelter can accommodate 1500 people at the most and then even if we do get space, we are crammed in like animals,’ says Abul Kashem (55), a local businessman.
Millions of survivors of the decade’s deadliest cyclone kept struggling for food, drinking water and shelter four days after the nightmare. Tens of thousands of people in the worst-hit southern districts such as Bagerhat, Barguna, Jhalakati, Bhola and Pirojpur were going without food as no relief goods reached the remote islands and chars. People living in accessible areas were living on whatever little amount they received since the cyclone and tidal surge battered them.
A huge number of residents from Rayenda Bazaar complained that till that day on November 19, there was no food, water or first aid for the injured, or treatment for the severely wounded. Moreover, helicopters were seen landing and dropping relief material, but those were all quickly locked away by the Rayenda Bazaar union parishad chairman. They said that they all went to get water purification tablets but that was also in the hands of musclemen of the influential people.
The streets and the water from the ponds have been stinking of corpses.
They all asked whether aid will be coming as it was Monday and they still had not received any support. ‘Even today we brought down a dead body of a woman holding her dead child from a nearby tree, ’a local man said.
A more sinister scene awaited at the next destination, Southkhali. Around 1000 recovered dead bodies lay on the ground. All the trees lay uprooted while one could not see a single house standing in sight. Around 50 people had taken shelter over the almost broken embankment as they got tents from a relief team and their howling made the atmosphere even heavier with pain and suffering.
Even here, victims complained that only a few fortunate people were receiving relief materials. In a display of badly planned relief distribution, packets of biscuits were being thrown at a group of a thousand people. ‘Look at them throwing those biscuit and cake packets at us as if it is written on the packets ‘catch me if you can’, said Kuddus Mridha (40) despairingly. When some of the victims got agitated jumping in for relief materials, local hoodlums beat them up disparagingly.
‘Influential people are treating us as if they are playing a game,’ said one villager.
A number of the victims then complained that influential villagers were taking away most of the relief items while most sufferers remained hungry and thirsty.
Nasrin Akhter (40) and Shahjahan Khan (50) said almost 200 people living near the river shore require immediate medical attention and that it would take three to four days for a number of doctors to treat them. On average, eight out of ten people in a family died or had been swept away. This would have not been the case if the embankment had been built stronger by width and ten feet higher than what it was before the storm lashed the whole village.
Southkhali has a population of 40,000 where almost 17,000 are voters. There are 10 cyclone shelters, which is not at all sufficient, and eight out of 10 villages in Southkhali have been totally demolished. 2000 plus dead bodies have already been recovered from a missing 3000 informs Mozammel Hossain, ex-chairman of Southkhali Union on November 22.
‘And the Sundarbans being only 30 minutes away from that locale is making it more risky for the villagers to remain outside as the fear of tigers and dacoits lay strong,’ added Hossain.
Even with all these afflictions, the people of these areas are passing each moment with a hope that aid will arrive. Be it from their own countrymen or those from other lands, this one glimmer of light, amidst the darkness of death, despair and fear, are helping them to survive.
Those who are still alive on the broken embankment of Shonatola village of Southkhali union in Shoronkhola not only face the very real risk of starvation and no shelter but must also now consider the fact that hungry Royal Bengal Tigers are prowling in nearby villages. Drawn to the stench of dead human and animal bodies - the tigers now pose a threat to the homeless.
‘Not only have we not received any food supplies since Monday (November 19) but now, those of us who are alive are running for our lives like mad, as tigers are coming out from the forest, smelling dead bodies of human and cattle,’ said Ilias, a resident of Shonatola village on the night of November 21 over the telephone while one could hear the cries of hundreds of people in the background.
‘We have already fired four rounds of shots and have successfully gotten rid of the tigers trying to attack these villagers,’ assured boatman Enayet Hossain of the forest department later that night.
The cyclone Sidr ripped through the southwestern coast on November 15, killing over 2997 people till date and demolishing houses, crops, vegetables and trees alike along its trail of devastation over an area of thousands of square kilometres.
Packing winds over 220km an hour, the fierce tropical storm roared across the shoreline after it hit landfall at the Khulna-Barisal coast at 7:30pm that day, cutting off all communications and utility services across the country.
The cyclone left its mark of devastation on 133 upazilas, 962 unions, affecting 31.44 lakh population of about 8.87 lakh families. The storm killed 2.42 lakh livestock and completely destroyed crops on 23,122-acre land including six lakh metric tons of Aman. According to the estimate, 2.73 lakhs houses were totally flattened, with 58km roads totally destroyed and another 1,363km damaged.
The shrimp farms at the badly-hit Morolgonj and Sharankhola upazilas in Bagherhat were extensively damaged, with the financial loss expected to reach Tk 500cr.
The night, for most survivors, was horrifying.
‘There were announcements over the microphone about the number 10 signal, in the market, but we did not believe it as the one about the tsunami did not happen,’ says Md Milon Howlader, a businessman, who owns a phone-shop. ‘Most people thought it was a phoney announcement, and, we all thought that SIDR would hit on Wednesday night and did not expect anything on Thursday. It was very windy and gloomy from the morning, followed by drizzle and wind. But when it was 8:00 pm and we started to hear the wind roaring like a helicopter taking off, my relatives from the cyclone shelter called me to say that even the cyclone shelters are shaking’.
‘At around 9:00 pm, as I peered outside my house, I was left in disbelief when I saw my neighbours – husband and wife- thrown apart by the heavy wind. It was a horrifying scene where they were trying to save themselves but could not hold on to the branch of a tree and soon got washed away’, Milon added.
‘I too did not believe that it would be so devastating’, says Shahjahan Khan. ‘We were sleeping and did not quite realise what was going on outside. However, at 10:00 pm when my house started to shake vigorously, I came outside with my family and just found ourselves drowning. By then, the water had come up to my waist. We somehow managed to struggle and stay safe from the storm’.
The cyclone caused the country’s power system to collapse completely, triggering a knock-on effect on piped water supplies, telecommunication and filling station operations. It was not until the morning of November 17 that the first reports of devastation began to emerge.
‘When we reached Khulna on the morning of November 16, we were welcomed with fallen electric polls and trees. There was very little wind and the atmosphere was heavy with grief,’ recalls one photojournalist.
‘Almost all the ponds in sight were filled with dead fishes floating at the surface. We went to village Goara in Katakhali by bus from Mongla and saw four dead bodies. We assumed that there were no major casualties until we visited Rayenda and Tafalbari in Bagerhat the following day on November 17,’ says Khulna city resident Ismail.
‘The sight there was even more horrifying. There was very little light and three to four feet deep soggy mud. Cattle were dead all around and then we saw a huge line of graves where at least 70 dead bodies were laid to rest. Thousands of people were swarming the cyclone shelter in Tafalbari with dead bodies all around them.’
‘The people around were discussing stats and facts- who saw the largest number of corpses and who could identify the bodies.’
‘Moreover, when we thought that was it, news came that Shoronkhola is the worst hit area, where at least thousands of people were reported dead,’ added the photojournalist.
On November 18, traveling by trawler from Morolganj towards Rayenda Bazaar, Gabtola and Southkhali of Shoronkhola one could see scattered people sitting by the edge of the river, all in agony and shouting for help and relief. Acres and acres of land totally demolished – trees fallen, houses washed away, dead animals on the ground and floating in the river - devastating carnage left by SIDR. Villagers were terrified by the rumour that another cyclone- Nargis- was slated to hit the coastal area by the end of November.
At Rayenda Bazaar, local traders were in a state of extreme distress. They lost huge amounts of money during the disaster.
‘At least four to five members in a family of eight to ten people died or were swept away by the roaring waves,’ said Ramjan Ali. ‘It has been almost three days and we are yet to receive any food and aid. We have been living on contaminated water since the cyclone hit.’
They added that only the goods that were stored 10 feet above the ground could be saved.
‘Only six people survived in my family of ten and this area does not have enough cyclone shelters to give refuge to all the residents. One shelter can accommodate 1500 people at the most and then even if we do get space, we are crammed in like animals,’ says Abul Kashem (55), a local businessman.
Millions of survivors of the decade’s deadliest cyclone kept struggling for food, drinking water and shelter four days after the nightmare. Tens of thousands of people in the worst-hit southern districts such as Bagerhat, Barguna, Jhalakati, Bhola and Pirojpur were going without food as no relief goods reached the remote islands and chars. People living in accessible areas were living on whatever little amount they received since the cyclone and tidal surge battered them.
A huge number of residents from Rayenda Bazaar complained that till that day on November 19, there was no food, water or first aid for the injured, or treatment for the severely wounded. Moreover, helicopters were seen landing and dropping relief material, but those were all quickly locked away by the Rayenda Bazaar union parishad chairman. They said that they all went to get water purification tablets but that was also in the hands of musclemen of the influential people.
The streets and the water from the ponds have been stinking of corpses.
They all asked whether aid will be coming as it was Monday and they still had not received any support. ‘Even today we brought down a dead body of a woman holding her dead child from a nearby tree, ’a local man said.
A more sinister scene awaited at the next destination, Southkhali. Around 1000 recovered dead bodies lay on the ground. All the trees lay uprooted while one could not see a single house standing in sight. Around 50 people had taken shelter over the almost broken embankment as they got tents from a relief team and their howling made the atmosphere even heavier with pain and suffering.
Even here, victims complained that only a few fortunate people were receiving relief materials. In a display of badly planned relief distribution, packets of biscuits were being thrown at a group of a thousand people. ‘Look at them throwing those biscuit and cake packets at us as if it is written on the packets ‘catch me if you can’, said Kuddus Mridha (40) despairingly. When some of the victims got agitated jumping in for relief materials, local hoodlums beat them up disparagingly.
‘Influential people are treating us as if they are playing a game,’ said one villager.
A number of the victims then complained that influential villagers were taking away most of the relief items while most sufferers remained hungry and thirsty.
Nasrin Akhter (40) and Shahjahan Khan (50) said almost 200 people living near the river shore require immediate medical attention and that it would take three to four days for a number of doctors to treat them. On average, eight out of ten people in a family died or had been swept away. This would have not been the case if the embankment had been built stronger by width and ten feet higher than what it was before the storm lashed the whole village.
Southkhali has a population of 40,000 where almost 17,000 are voters. There are 10 cyclone shelters, which is not at all sufficient, and eight out of 10 villages in Southkhali have been totally demolished. 2000 plus dead bodies have already been recovered from a missing 3000 informs Mozammel Hossain, ex-chairman of Southkhali Union on November 22.
‘And the Sundarbans being only 30 minutes away from that locale is making it more risky for the villagers to remain outside as the fear of tigers and dacoits lay strong,’ added Hossain.
Even with all these afflictions, the people of these areas are passing each moment with a hope that aid will arrive. Be it from their own countrymen or those from other lands, this one glimmer of light, amidst the darkness of death, despair and fear, are helping them to survive.