Difficult time

The news of eight people who died in Cyclone Bulbul is so painful (“Eight dead as cyclone smashes into India, Bangladesh coasts,” Nov.10, Gulf Today).

It is time the world helps people who are facing Cyclone Bulbul in India and Bangladesh. There is no doubt that Cyclone Bulbul is a natural disaster but as human beings it is the responsibility of the whole world to help affected people who are facing a hard time.

Eight people died and more than two million others spent a night huddled in storm shelters as Cyclone Bulbul smashed into the coasts of India and Bangladesh with fierce gales and torrential rain, officials said on Sunday.

The cyclone packed winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour when it hit late on Saturday, closing ports and airports in both countries.

Three people were killed in India’s West Bengal state, two after uprooted trees fell on their homes and another after being struck by the falling branches of a tree in Kolkata. A fourth person died in a wall collapse in nearby Odisha state.

In Bangladesh, four more were killed by falling trees and at least 20 people were injured. The cyclone also damaged some 4,000 mostly mud and tin-built houses, Bangladesh’s disaster management secretary Shah Kamal told AFP.

In coastal Khulna, the worst-hit district in Bangladesh, trees swayed violently and were ripped from the ground in the fierce storm, blocking roads and hampering access to the area.

Some low-lying parts of the district were flooded, disaster management minister Enamur Rahman told the media.

My sincere prayers are with the people who are going through this difficult time during Cyclone Bulbul.

Asif Jahangir
By email