Tidal water floods 52 Cox's Bazar villages
10 Aila-hit villages inundated in Satkhira
Fifty-two villages under six upazilas of Cox's Bazar district go under water following collapse of a coastal embankment during high tide in the Bay yesterday. Photo shows a submerged village in Kutubdia upazila. Photo: STAR
More than 800 dwelling houses in 52 villages under six upazilas of the district were inundated as embankment collapsed during high tide Sunday night. Meanwhile, weathermen hoisted signal number 3 as the Bay became rough in the last 24 hours. The tidal water rose several feet above the normal level hitting the coast. The affected villages fall under Kutubdia, Moheshkhali, Sadar, Pekua, Chakoria and Teknaf upazilas. Cox's Bazar Met office sources said, in the last 24 hours till 3:00pm yesterday, the district experienced about 88 mm rainfall. All the trawlers and fishing boats in the Bay of Bengal have been told to stay near the coast and move cautiously, they said. Kutubdia upazila parishad chairman ATM Nurul Bashar Chowdhury said, more than 10 km stretch of the 40-km coastal embankment has been washed away by the sea water. Another 15 km has become risky, leaving one lakh people of the upazila in utter panic. Five villages in Moheshkhali upazila went under water as tidal water entered through the breaches of the embankment, locals said. In Cox's Bazar town, the tidal water submerged about 120 dwelling houses at Fadnardail and Najiratek char areas yesterday. Several thousand people have taken shelter in nearby cyclone shelters, educational institutions and on high lands. In Satkhira, at least 10 villages in Padmapukur, an Aila affected union under Shyamnagar upazila, were inundated as the embankment on the river Kabodak collapsed during violent tide on Sunday night. About 50 yards at New Mosque point of the embankment have been washed away, reports our correspondent. Over 8,000 people of almost all the villages in Padmapukur union have been marooned. The affected villages are Padmapukur, Uttar Pakhimara, Dakkhin Pakhimara Chandipur, Baintala, Khutikata, Kamalkati, Chaulkhola, Jhhapa, Ershad Nagar, Sonakhali and Chandipur.
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