Mofizur's Memoirs: The cyclone shelter volunteer with 35-years under his belt

During the terrible cyclone of 1991, among the deadliest tropical cyclones on record, Mofizur Rahman was running to and fro, trying to persuade people to leave their homes and enter cyclone shelters.

As tidal surges up to 30 feet high battered the coastal areas of Bangladesh for 3-4 hours, Mofizur, 23 at the time, braved the storms and went from neighbourhood to neighbourhood with his loudspeaker blaring warnings to locals. 

Then came the terrible flood.

Now 91, Mofizur Rahman, the headmaster of Kalatali Adarsh High School, still serves as a volunteer for the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society's Cyclone Protection Programme.

Sitting at the Kalatali Government Primary School shelter, he reminisced about past calamities and his volunteering, which he has been doing since joining the programme in 1987.

"I was 23 when the cyclone of 1991 hit. There was a village to the west of Kalatali. Many people lived there. Back then, there was barely any awareness of weather hazards let alone campaigns," he said.

"I remember using a megaphone to ask people to move. At around 8:30pm, the cyclone hit. I had been trying since the afternoon to get through to them, but a lot of people just didn't listen. After a certain time, it was too late to even move to safety." 

"My house was in Dakshin Kalatali. I left the homestead with only important documents, including the land deed and went to the shelter with my family. I left behind most things, including a large storage of rice. The next morning after the storm, I was completely destitute. We had nothing to eat," he said.

He recalled there was no rainfall in the early hours of the cyclone. There was barely any wind. The atmosphere was quite tense.

"The water suddenly rose high within just an hour. People were trapped. There were no waves, but the water level was high."

Mofizur said his mentor, a upazila parishad member, was the one who involved him in the work. Although there are no monetary rewards, Mofizur said he wanted to continue his work.

"I can work for people. That's the satisfaction at the end of the day. Many lives can be saved because of us," he said.