Weather News Updates: At least 24 people died after Cyclone Sitrang slammed into Bangladesh, forcing the evacuation of about a million people from their homes, officials said Tuesday. The cyclone made landfall between Tinkona island and Sandwip near Barisal in Bangladesh between 9.30 pm and 11.30 pm on Monday with a sustained wind speed of 80 to 90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph.
Many persons missing, no electricity in Bangladesh
Around 10 million people were without power in districts along the coast on Tuesday, while schools were shut across much of the country’s south. Police and government officials said at least 24 people died, mostly after they were hit by falling trees, with two dying in the north on the Jamuna River when their boat sank in squally weather.
A Myanmar national working on a ship also died by falling off the deck, an official said. “We still have not got all the reports of damages,” government official Jebun Nahar told AFP.
Eight people are missing from a dredging boat that sank during the storm late Monday night in the Bay of Bengal, near the country’s largest industrial park at Mirsarai, regional fire department chief Abdullah Pasha said. “Strong wind flipped the dredger and it sank instantly in the Bay of Bengal,” he told AFP, adding that divers were searching for survivors.
Houses damaged in Mizoram, landslides in Arunachal Pradesh
At least five houses and two relief camps in Mizoram’s Mamit and Siaha districts were damaged due to heavy rain accompanied by squally wind under the impact of cyclone ‘Sitrang’, an official said on Tuesday.
Heavy rain along with gusty wind also disrupted power supplies in some parts of the northeastern state. Meanwhile, all schools in Aizawl, southern Mizoram’s Lunglei and Serchhip districts remained shut on Tuesday in view of heavy rainfall.
The downpour also triggered landslides and uprooted trees along several highways in various parts of the northeastern state, he said. No casualty has been reported so far, the state disaster management and rehabilitation department official said.
Incessant rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh also triggered landslides. A portion of road collapsed in between Nag Mandir and Tenga in West Kameng district.
Air pollution dips in Kolkata on Diwali amid rain
Intermittent rain and warnings of cyclone ‘Sitrang’ saw air pollution levels dip in Kolkata on Diwali, though the rain gods could not stem fireworks’ use and the resulting noise in the capital of neighbouring state of Jharkhand. Air pollution level across Kolkata on Kali Puja-Diwali evening was “far less” than what it was on the occasion in the last three years, an official of West Bengal Pollution Control Board said on Tuesday.
The dip in air pollution can largely be attributed to intermittent showers since Monday morning under the impact of cyclone ‘Sitrang’, he said. The light rain cleansed the air and prevented a section of revellers to go out and burst firecrackers, the official said.
Delhi’s air quality improves, but still ‘poor’
Delhi’s air quality improved on Wednesday morning on the back of favourable wind speed but it remained poor. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 262 at 6 am, improving from 303 at 4 pm on Tuesday. It was 312 at 4 pm on Monday, the day of Diwali.
The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (262), Noida (246), Greater Noida (196), Gurugram (242) and Faridabad (243) reported “moderate” to “poor” air quality. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
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