SM Shahidul Islam, Satkhira

Due to the impact of Cyclone Dana created in the Bay of Bengal, rain is falling in torrents across the district including the coastal areas of Satkhira on Thursday early morning with occasional gusty winds.

The tidal water has increased slightly above normal in the coastal rivers. Meanwhile, the Satkhira district administration has taken extensive preparations to deal with the cyclone. The leave of the government officials and employees of Satkhira has been canceled in order to stand by the people in the situation. This decision was taken in a meeting of the Disaster Management Committee held at the Deputy Commissioner's office on Wednesday afternoon.

Abdul Halim from the coast of Shyamnagar said that it has been raining since Thursday morning. At the same time, the wind is blowing. In all the coastal rivers, the tidal water has increased slightly above normal. People do not leave the house unless necessary. However, the overall situation is still normal, he said.

Shyamnagar Upazila Disaster Management Officer Md. Shahinul Alam said that a total of 162 cyclone shelters, including 102 government ones of the upazila, have been prepared in coastal Shyamnagar area of the most vulnerable district to deal with cyclone 'Dana'. Besides, sufficient amount of dry food is kept in stock. Two thousand 980 CPP members and other volunteers are ready for the safety of people and property in coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the water development board (PUBO) officials are constantly monitoring the dangerous embankments in the coastal areas. Adequate geo bags, geo rolls and other ancillary equipment are kept ready at the vulnerable points of the embankment. Pubo officials said that they are prepared to deal with any situation.

Executive Engineer of Satkhira Paubo Division-1. Salauddin said that there are 380 kilometers of embankments under his department. 2.5 km embankment is at risk at 6 of these points. We have stocked enough Geo Bags, Geo Filters, Geo Polyester. If any accident occurs, immediate action can be taken.

Meanwhile, instructions have been given from the Satkhira District Education Office to keep all educational institutions open as shelters on the authority of the district administration.

Sheikh Monirul Islam, executive engineer of Satkhira Paubo Division-2, said that there are 303 km embankment in Satkhira under his division. Some of these polders are vulnerable to 2 km dams at 3 points. However, sufficient number of geo bags, filters and geo-plasters have been kept in the vulnerable embankment areas as advance preparations. Risky embankments have been monitored since the advance of the cyclone was received. Our people are working in their respective areas. They are ready to face any situation.

Satkhira District Commissioner Mostak Ahmed said that the district administration has taken all kinds of preparations to deal with the cyclone. 887 cyclone shelters and shelters have been prepared in Satkhira. Where 4 lakh 43 thousand 500 people can take shelter safely. Also, all the preparations to deal with cyclone 'Dana' have already been completed by the district administration.

He also said that beef feed worth Tk 5 lakh, baby food of Tk 5 lakh, 800 metric tons of rice and cash amounting to Tk 7 lakh have been kept ready. Fire services, ambulances, trawlers and volunteers have been ordered to be ready to carry out rescue operations during and after disasters.

Incidentally, the coastal residents of Satkhira have faced 14 cyclones including 'Dana' in the last 17 years.

Cyclone Sidor hit the coastal area of Satkhira on 15 November 2007. Then on May 25, 2009 Cyclone Aila. Mahasen on May 16, 2013. Komen on 30 July 2015. Roanu on 21 May 2016. Mora on May 30, 2017. Fani on May 3, 2019. Bulbul on November 9, 2019. Ampan on May 20, 2020. Yas 26 May 2021. Ashni hit on May 12, 2022 and 'Mokha' on May 14, 2023.

Cyclone Rimal recently hit the Satkhira coast. It crossed land between the evening of May 26 and the morning of May 27, 2024. At that time, some unions of Khulna, Ashasuni and Shyamnagar upazilas were flooded after the embankment broke. Cyclone 'Dana' is now in the Bay of Bengal.