Nor’wester damages 3,000 hectares of crops in Cumilla
The storm also disrupted power supply across the district, with outages reported in many areas since yesterday afternoon.
A nor'wester has battered Cumilla's agriculture sector, damaging nearly 3,000 hectares of cropland across 17 upazilas since yesterday (28 April), with losses likely to rise as rain and strong winds continue.
Of the total, 1,733 hectares of paddy fields were submerged. Another 550 hectares of maize, 235 hectares of aush seedbeds, and 364 hectares of summer vegetables were destroyed, according to agriculture officials.
Md Mizanur Rahman, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Cumilla, said crops across all 17 upazilas were affected to varying degrees. Laksham, Daudkandi, Nangalkot, Debidwar and Muradnagar suffered the worst damage.
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He said he was inspecting Laksham when contacted. Officials at district and upazila levels are busy conducting field visits to assess losses and minimise damage.
The storm also disrupted power supply across the district, with outages reported in many areas since yesterday afternoon. Strong winds uprooted trees onto power lines and snapped hundreds of connection wires.
As a result, consumers in several areas have faced prolonged outages lasting hours. Kamruzzaman Kawsar, a resident of Kashipur in Nangalkot, said their area has been without electricity for nearly 70 hours.
"Even during the 2024 floods we did not face such a situation," he said. "We are using old kerosene lamps. I never imagined we would return to that era again."
Sheikh Firoz Kabir, executive engineer of the Power Development Board in Cumilla, said electricity supply in most PDB areas has been restored. He added that the extent of damage is yet to be assessed and information on rural cooperatives is unavailable.
