Dry weather likely
November 3, 2008
Metro Desk
The weather is likely to remain dry with partly cloudy sky over the country till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Sunday.
Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged. The highest temperature on Sunday, 33 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Sitakundu and the lowest, 19.2 degrees Celsius, in Jessore.
The sun sets in the capital city today at 5:18pm and rises tomorrow at 6:06am.
Source: New Age
Cyclone leaves trail of devastation: Death toll 15
October 30, 2008
Cyclone Reshmi lashed country’s coast, killing at least 15 people and injuring 200 more and caused damages of crops of 2.8 lakh hectares in southern region.
The storm, spawned by a depression in the Bay of Bengal, struck late Monday, inundating hundreds of villages, levelling several thousand huts and knocking down electricity poles, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
At least 10 bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed houses in Barisal district, a hard-hit area 75 miles south of the capital, Dhaka, they said. Another five people drowned in neighbouring Patuakhali district.
Some 200 villagers were injured and many were taken to hospitals, they said.
The officials said rescue workers were trying to reach people with drinking water and food.
Our Barisal Correspondent adds: Different types of crops were fully and partially destroyed and damaged on 2.28 lakhs hectares land worth Tk. 1,000 cores by cyclone Reshmi, in 11 districts under Barisal Agriculture Region.
Barisal Regional Agriculture Extension office sources said field level workers of the department are now busy about assessment of the damages and giving advice to the farmers.
These affected crops include Ropa Aman, Bona Aman, Boro seed beds and winter vegetables.
Cultivation of Aman paddy, the main crop of the southern region, was done on 8.32 lakh hectares, and other varieties of crops on 0.53 laks hectares in 11 districts under Barisal Agricultural region. These districts are Barisal, Jhalakati, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola, six districts of Barisal division and Faridpur, Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Rajbari and Madaripur.
Crops on more than 1.79 lakh hactres of land suffered damages with 0.25 lakh hactres fully damaged by cyclone Reshmi in six districts of Barisal division.
Crops on more than 200 hectares of land in the most affected areas situated under Pirojpur and Jhalakati districts were destroyed fully and crops damage on 25,046 hectares of lands.
Cyclone Reshmi affected crops on about 0.24 lakh hectares of land including 0.6 lakh hectares were fully destroyed and .18 lakh hectares were partially damaged out of 1.35 lakhs hectare of cultivated lands in the other five districts of greater Faridpur region.
Ninety percent of the total crops were fully affected in 11 districts by cyclone Reshmi in the Barisal division.
AED officials said a short shower is immediately needed to wash away the sand and mud deposited on some varieties of crops including under blooming Aman and winter vegetables.
Cyclone Reshmi wrecks devastation in South-West
October 28, 2008
At least 9 killed, livestock perish, many houses and crops damaged
UNB, Dhaka
Cyclone ‘Reshmi’ swept over southwestern coastal belts of the country early on Monday, leaving at least nine people dead and many houses and crops on vast tracts of land damaged.
Three people were killed in Patuaknali while two each in Barisal, Chandpur and Bhola districts during the late-night scourge over the coast.
Several hundred cattle also perished in storms and tidal surge whipped by the cyclone that hit the coast at the dead of night, said reports from UNB district correspondents.
Hazera, 48, and Runa, 9, died when their houses collapsed on them in Char Fashion upazila of Bhola as this coastal district fell under the eye of the violent storm. The cyclonic storm destroyed nearly 3,000 mud houses while tidal surge whipped by it washed away some parts of an embankment on this island of the Bay flooding a vast area.
The cyclone ripped through different upazilas of Bhola, Barisal, Pirojpur and Patuakhali districts and adjoining coastal areas, including Char Fashion, Patharghata, Saronkhola, Mothbaria, Golachipa, Mehendiganj, Bakerganj, Hijla and Muladi, from nearly 3am to 5:30am.
Manirul Islam, officer-in-Charge of Mehendiganj upazila of Barisal, said the dead body of Ainal Khan, 71, was recovered from Maskata River on Monday morning.
Badrul Huq, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Muladi, said Fakrunnesa, 40, of Boalia village died as a tree blew down on her.
Barisal Water Development Board and Port authority sources said a portion of the town-protection embankment got severely damaged.
On Nov 15 last year, super-cyclone Sidr also moved through the Barisal-Khulna region from the Bay of Bengal and eventually pounded the Sunderbans mangrove forest and its neighborhoods. Thereafter, another cyclone codenamed Nargis in May this year finally changed its course into Myanmar with a devastating force.
In Bagerhat, worst hit by last year’s Sidr, the sea-storm Reshmi damaged over 500 thatched houses and capsized 15 fishing trawlers in the Bay. Over 50 fishermen of these trawlers were reported missing.
The storm also damaged standing crops on vast tracts of land in the coastal areas of the district situated in the vicinities of the Sunderbans and uprooted hundreds of trees.
Alauddin, a farmer of Kachikhali, said 15 trawlers sank with 150 fishermen off different areas, including Dublar char, Katka, Meheralirchar and Narkelbaria while Reshmi was crossing over the district. Of them, over 100 managed to swim ashore while the rest went missing. Power remained cut-off since Sunday midnight as a number of trees and their branches crashed on the electric lines.
Acting Chairman of Mongla Port M Lutfar Rahman said loading and unloading of goods from cargo ships have halted at the seaport since Sunday morning. “At present four ships berthed in the port and all vessels are safe.”
In Patuakhali, three people were killed and at least 11 others, including nine fishermen, were missing and around 5,000 thatched houses damaged by the cyclonic storm.
Ranjit Kumar, upazila nirbahi officer of Kolapara upazila of Patuakhali, said that Narayan Chandra Mistri, 47, of Kalapara town died of heart attack when his family members were frantically searching for safe shelter amid raging storms.
Besides, bodies of two unidentified fishermen were recovered from Char Gangamoti area on Monday morning.
District Control room sources said the cyclone damaged standing crops in 7500 acres of land, 4,906 thatched houses and 50 fish enclosures.
Cross-dam was damaged at four points in Kolapara uapzila and one point in Golachipa upazila. Many people have been marooned in the char areas for the sudden flooding by tidal water. Officer-in-Charge of Dashmina thana said 11 people remained missing in Kolapara and Golachipa uapzilas while over 200 cattle perished in char areas. River-port authority said the plying of vessels on all routes has been suspended.
In Khulna, vast tracts of land in Dakop and Koira upazilas were submerged as two cross- dams of Water Development Board gave in under a surge of water early Monday.
Over 400 fish enclosures were also washed away and over 200 thatched houses damaged as the seawater entered through the breaches in the dam at about 1:30am.
Dakop Upzila Nirbahi Officer M Mohsin Ali said a fishing-trawler and 18 boats were overturned by the storms in Sibsha river in the early hours of the day. But the fishermen managed to swim ashore. Several hundred dwellings and educational institutions were damaged while over 200 cattle died as Reshmi lashed Noakhali district at midnight.
Besides, the cyclonic storm also battered electric poles in some areas, disrupting power supply.
In Chandpur, two people were killed as a tree fell on them during the storm.
One of the deceased was identified as Sahabuddin, 40, of Faridganj upazila but the minor boy killed in Hajiganj uapzila could not be identified.
Besides, 1,000 thatched houses were damaged in Kochua, Saharasti, Matlab North, Haimchar, Faridganj and Sadar uapzilas.
Meanwhile, the cyclone turned into land depression after crossing over the coast. Moving through Faridpur, Madaripur, Chandpur and Dhaka and adjoining areas towards north-northeast direction and was lying over Meghalaya and adjoining Bangladesh, a latest Met bulletin said.
“It is likely to move in a northeasterly direction further inland and weaken gradually. Steep pressure gradient persists over North Bay. Squally weather may continue to affect the maritime ports,” it said.
Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Mongla seaports have been advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal number three rpt three. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution until further notice.
Source: The Bangladesh Today
Dry weather likely
October 16, 2008
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka
Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky over the country in the next 24 hours till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Wednesday.
Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, the Met Office said.
The country’s highest temperature on Wednesday, 35.3 degree Celsius, was recorded in Sylhet and the lowest, 22.2 degrees Celsius, in Jessore.
The sun sets in the capital city today at 5:31pm and rises tomorrow at 5:57am.
Source: New Age
Light to moderate rain likely
September 27, 2008
Metro Desk
Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likey at most of the places in Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong and at many places over the Rajshahi, Dhaka and Sylhet with heavy falls at places till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Friday.
Day temperature may fall slightly. The highest temperature on Friday, 35.1 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Sylhet and the lowest, 24.9 degrees Celsius, in Chittagong. The sun sets in the capital city today at 5:49pm and rises tomorrow at 5:49am.
Source: New Age
Alternative livelihoods stressed to cope with climate change
September 24, 2008
Speakers at a meeting on Saturday emphasised creating alternative livelihoods to cope with the climate change.
The meeting on alternative livelihood in the context of climate change was held at the office of Pradipan, a non-governmental organisation, in Khulna city.
Pradipan arranged the meeting with the help of Bread for the World and Christian Aid for Overseas Development.
The speakers said building awareness among the countrymen on impacts of climate change on livelihood and food security, and creating alternative livelihoods were needed for adapting to climate change.
Chaired by journalist Mallick Sudhangshu, the meeting was also addressed by Professor Salequzzaman, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon activist Firoz Ahmed, Khulna district livestock officer Obaidul Karim, journalist Mokbul Hossain Mintu, and Prodipan’s Mehedi Azam.
The speakers called for applying local and indigenous knowledge to improve soil fertility and preserve seeds to cope with the situation in the south-western region of the country, and also demanded an immediate land zoning for ecological agriculture and farming.
They said salinity in the region was increasing gradually, and called for restoration of water bodies like ponds and tanks, in stead of extracting ground water, to get water for drinking and household use.
They said new sustainable livelihood options like crab fattening, pig farming, fish farming, mat knitting, and poultry farming should be introduced to the people of the south-western region who are dependant on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods investing a small amount of money.
They also urged all to launch a campaign against the developed countries that are mainly responsible for climate change to get compensation from them for the developing countries to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Source: New Age
Monsoon front intensifies
September 17, 2008
The monsoon front over the northwest Bay of Bengal, off the Orissa coast, moved slightly northwards and intensified into a deep depression, the meteorological department said Tuesday in a special weather bulletin.
Under its influence, a steep pressure gradient lies over the North Bay, the weather office said.
Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Mongla have been asked to keep hoisted local cautionary signal number 3, it added.
All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been asked to take shelter immediately and remain in shelter till further notice.
Low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur, Bhola, Barisal, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirozpur, Jhalokhati, Bagerhat, Khulna and Satkhira , offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by water surges of 2-3 feet high.
At 3pm, the depression was about 575 kilometres west-southwest of Chittagong port, 560 kilometres west-southwest of Cox’s Bazar port and 365 kilometres southwest of Mongla port.
It is likely to intensify further and move in a north-northwesterly direction, crossing the Orissa coast of India near Paradwip by night.
Squally weather may continue to affect the maritime ports and adjoining coastal region of Bangladesh.
Maximum sustained wind speed within 48 kms of the depression centre is about 50 km per hour rising to 60 kph in gusts or squalls. The sea will remain rough.
Source: bdnews24
Hurricane Ike hits Cuba’s coast
September 8, 2008
Hurricane Ike hits Cuba
Hurricane Ike is battering Cuba’s northern coast, generating winds of more than 195km/h (120mph), giant waves and torrential rain.
Cuban TV has said that some homes along the coast, where hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, have been damaged beyond repair.
Ike killed at least 47 people in Haiti and reportedly damaged 80% of homes on the main Turks and Caicos islands.
It weakened to a Category Three storm but remains dangerous.
The Cuban Meteorology Institute said the eye of the hurricane came ashore near Punta Lucrecia in the state of Holguin about 510 miles (823km) south-east of Havana.
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With Hurricane Gustav striking just a week ago, Cuba’s internationally acclaimed emergency services are being stretched to the limit, the BBC’s Michael Voss reports from Havana.
Gustav caused serious damage to the western side of the island, damaging almost 100,000 homes.
Ike is forecast to reach the capital early on Tuesday morning.
A direct hit on the densely populated city of two million people with its precarious colonial buildings could be devastating, our correspondent says.
Among those evacuated before the arrival of Ike were 15,000 tourists.
Haitian appeal
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, endured the onslaught of four tropical storms in a three week period.
Heavy rains and flooding sparked by the outer bands of the storm killed at least 47 people, many of them children, in the town of Cabaret, north of the capital Port au Prince, local media report.
The destruction in Haiti has been described as catastrophic.
Police said 500 people were confirmed dead from recent Tropical Storm Hanna while others were still missing and the number could rise.
The newly installed Prime Minister, Michele Pierre Louis, has launched a fresh appeal for international aid.
He called in particular for helicopters to bring those left stranded by the floods to safety. Many lived for days on their rooftops to escape the flood waters.
Florida threat
Ike has been moving westwards at 20km/h (13mph) and is expected to make a 30-hour track along the centre of Cuba, although weakening on the way, the US National Hurricane Center says.
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RECENT MAJOR STORMS
Hurricane Ike: September
Tropical Storm Hanna: September
Hurricane Gustav: August, September
Tropical Storm Fay: August
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It has weakened slightly, from Category Four to Three, but the NHC said it was still potentially very dangerous.
On its current track the storm could threaten the islands of the Florida Keys by Tuesday. Some residents have received evacuation orders.
Emergency management director Craig Fugate urged them to move soon, or they “may find the escape route blocked by a hurricane”.
Weather Bangladesh (Live)
July 8, 2008
Scientist debunks ‘NASA doomsday climate scenario’ for Bangladesh
July 6, 2008
A leading Bangladeshi researcher on climate change has dismissed as an overstatement the doomsday projections that Bangladesh could ‘disappear under the waves by the end of the century.’(The Newage)The gloomy prediction, attributed to the US space agency NASA, was made in a recent report in the British daily the Independent.
Dr Monirul Qader Mirza, a co-author of last year’s reputed Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change reports, suggests that the 25-metre sea level rise, as predicted by the Independent report, could be an exaggeration and had been denied by NASA.
Writing in the editorial page of today’s issue of New Age, Mirza warns that Bangladesh will nonetheless face widespread devastation for a much smaller rise in sea levels as predicted by the Nobel Peace prize-winning IPCC.
‘The 25-metre sea level rise is inappropriately cited in the Independent in the name of NASA and certainly entire Bangladesh is not going to go under water by the end of this century’, writes Mirza in his article.
A report by Johann Hari published in the Independent newspaper on June 20 observed, ‘Bangladesh, the most crowded nation on earth, is set to disappear under the waves by the end of this century’, and attributed the 25-metre sea level rise projection to reputed NASA scientist Dr James Hansen.
According to Mirza, the NASA scientist responded to his queries on this projection via email in which he wrote: ‘I have made no such projection…it is hard to say how much would occur by 2100 – it could be a few metres’.
‘In my long association with the IPCC, I have not come across any literature that has particularly projected a 25-metre sea level rise by 2100,’ writes Mirza.
Mirza, who is currently working at the University of Toronto in Canada, however, warns that ‘impacts of sea level rise on land and water, crops, livestock, human health and livelihood would be significant’, even if the extent of such a rise was far less.
Scientists in Bangladesh have also questioned the veracity of the 25-metre sea level rise projection with many viewing it as ‘too extreme’.
‘Although there may be scope for upwardly adjusting the IPCC projections, I think the scientific basis of a 25-metre sea level rise projection would be quite shaky’, said Mozaharul Alam, a research fellow at the Dhaka-based Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies