As Cyclone Remal approached, at least 800,000 Bangladeshis evacuated their coastal villages on Sunday, seeking refuge in concrete storm shelters further inland, according to top government disaster officials. The low-lying nation braced for the impact of crashing waves and howling gales as the cyclone threatened to make landfall late Sunday evening, targeting the southern coast and parts of neighboring India.
With the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecasting gusts of up to 130 kilometers per hour, concerns mounted over the potential devastation. Cyclones have historically claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Bangladesh, and the frequency of superstorms hitting its densely populated coast has risen sharply in recent years, attributed in part to the effects of climate change.
Senior weather official Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik cautioned that Cyclone Remal could bring a storm surge of up to four meters above normal astronomical tide, posing a significant threat to coastal communities. Given that most of Bangladesh’s coastal areas are only slightly above sea level, such surges have the potential to cause widespread devastation to villages in their path.
