Cyclone Remal: Villages still underwater in Khulna’s three upazilas

Four days after Cyclone Remal struck, several villages in Khulna's coastal district remain underwater, and the death toll of animals from the flooding in the Sundarbans has risen to 100.

Villages in Khulna's Koyra, Dakop and Paikgasa upazilas are still underwater, causing immense suffering to residents and damage to valuables.

Water Development Board (WDB) Officials and locals said that cyclone Remal caused breaches at eight points in the embankments across the three upazilas, flooding villages, fish enclosures and agricultural land.

Although repairs have been completed at five points, water continues to enter through the broken embankments at Dashhalia in Maharajpur Union, Dakshin Kaminibasia in Tiladanga Union under Dakop, and Perikhali village in Deluti Union of Paikgasa upazila.

Efforts to repair the embankment at Dakshin Kaminibasia began on Thursday morning.

Despite completing around 60% of the repair work, the rising tide caused the temporary embankment to collapse, flooding 20 to 22 villages in Tiladanga and Pankhali unions.

Similarly, on Wednesday morning, over 200 people began repairing a broken dam in Dashhalia village of Koyra. Upon completing 80% of the work by noon, it again broke under the full tide pressure around 1:45pm, submerging hundreds of homes.

Local Nurul Islam, who participated in the repair work in Dashhalia village, blamed the WDB for failing to provide necessary materials, including sand-filled geo-bags, while the locals were repairing.

Ashraful Alam, an executive engineer of WDB Khulna, admitted that the cyclone broke embankments at eight locations, allowing water to flood the areas.

He said temporary embankments were constructed at five locations on the first day, adding that maintaining the embankments at three sites has proven challenging despite continuous efforts.

He emphasised that their primary focus is creating temporary barriers to prevent further water intrusion, with plans to undertake permanent repairs at the affected sites later.

Carcasses keep piling up

Meanwhile, the death toll of animals from the flooding in the Sundarbans has climbed to 100.

According to the Forest Department, the carcasses of 96 deer and four wild bears were recovered from the forest by Thursday evening, indicating a great loss to wildlife.

The animals were found dead in several areas including Kotka, Kochikhali, Karamjal, Pakhi Char, Dimar Char, Shelar Char and Narikel Baria.

Moreover, 18 deer and one python were rescued in critical condition. After giving first aid, they were released into the forest.

Alongside the wildlife losses, damages to various infrastructures in the forest were estimated at around Tk6.27 crore.

However, according to the forest department, the non-monetary damages were even more severe.

Over 100 ponds in the forest were flooded with saline water, causing distress to both wildlife and the local residents.

An 11-kilometer area known as Gol Bagan was also damaged.

However, it will take more time to fully assess the extent of damage to the trees and animals in the forest.

Officials of the Forest Department said this time the forest faced an unusual situation due to cyclone Remal as it experienced two high tides and two low tides within a 24-hour period, flooding parts of the forest.

Mihir Kumar Dey, a forest conservator in the Khulna range, said that the Sundarbans faced an unprecedented situation this time after the cyclone.

It will take more time to ascertain the full impact and gather accurate information, he added.