Siddique Islam (National News Service ) Dhaka, Tuesday, March 22 : the death toll in Sunday night’s devastating tornado in the country’s northern districts Gaibandha and Rangpur rose to 43, unofficial sources said Monday.
The authorities, however, confirmed the death of 28 people. They said the tornados levelled 700 houses of mud, bamboo, straws and corrugated iron sheet in the districts.
The whirlwind that blew over Sadullahpur and Sundarganj upazilas in Gaibandha, 190 kilometres north off the capital, and Mithapukur and Pirgachha in Rangpur wounded 2,000 people and made 4,000 people of 15 villagers homeless.
According to the reports from the areas, about 800 were injured in the twister that ravaged more than 30 villages of the two northern districts.
House collapse caused most of the deaths while several others died when big trees fell on them. The 16-minute storm left a trail or devastation across 15 square kilometre area in the two upazilas. It flattened almost all thatched houses in the areas.
The worst affected areas are Dakkhin Dashalia in Sadullapur where 18 people were killed. Eight labourers were buried alive under bricks when the chimney of a brick kiln in Dashalia village collapsed during the twister.
Several thousand people of the affected villages, rendered homeless by the tornado, passed last night under open sky and without food, said a victim of village Kishamat Hamid.
Upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Sadullapur confirmed the death of 23 people in the upazila while UNO of Sundarganj put the death figure at 12.
A total of 230 injured were admitted to Gaibandha Sadar Hospital while 10 critically wounded people sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Food and Disaster Management Asadul Habib Dulu has already visited the affected areas and ordered officials to extend all possible help to the victims.
Besides, the government allocated additional cash, corrugated iron sheets, rice and biscuits for the people affected by tornado.
An emergency meeting at the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management on Monday gave the allocation as immediate relief materials for the victims.
The meeting allocated Tk 150,000 in cash, Tk 500,000 for house reconstruction, 700 bundles of corrugated iron sheets, 150 tonnes of rice and 500 tins of biscuits for immediate distribution among the people.
On the other hand, four people were killed and several hundred others injured in the tornado that swept 17 villages in Pirgachha and Mithapukur upazilas Sunday night.
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