3 killed, over 60 injured as Cyclone Hamoon crosses Bangladesh’s coastal belt

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - At least three people were killed and over 60 others injured in southeastern Cox’s Bazar region as Cyclone Hamoon crossed Bangladesh’s coastal belt on Tuesday night, said officials.

The cyclone also caused serious property and environmental damage in the coastal region.

“We got reports of three casualties in different parts of Cox’s Bazar due to the effects of Cyclone Hamoon. Some 63 people were also injured. Of them, 18 remained in hospitals,” Muhammad Shaheen Imran, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, told Anadolu on Wednesday.

About 30,000 houses got damaged, but the report was not complete yet, he added.

The cyclone also disrupted the power supply and mobile network in the district, he added.

The Cox’s Bazar authority evacuated over 40,000 people to government shelters before the cyclone made landfall.

Over 500 people were displaced in Cox’s Bazar as their houses were seriously damaged, Cox’s Bazar disaster management and relief officer Md Jahangir Alom told Anadolu.

Bangladesh earlier evacuated about 1.5 million people from its 10 coastal districts.

A depression over the west-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining area had moved north-northeast and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm named Hamoon.

The cyclonic, however, weakened and crossed the Bangladeshi coast early Wednesday, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Wednesday.