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53 killed as twisters tear thru' 2 districts

700 injured, seven villages stand in ruins in Mymensingh, Netrakona

Staff Correspondent
1\vin tornadoes packing destructive winds cut swathes through Netrakona and Mymensingh districts on Wednesday, killing at least 53 people and injuring 700 others, police and witnesses said.
Ilie twisters, coinciding with the celebrations of New Year's Day on Bangla calendar, also destroyed thousands of houses, sent debris flying in every direction and destroyed crops in die fields.
Our Netrakona correspondent FROM PAGE 1
adds: Three idyllic villages in Sadar upazila stood in matchwood as one of the giant tornadoes with wind speeds of 120km an hour tore through the area for 20 minutes from 7:45pm, killing 35 people.
The twister, accompanied by hails, flattened about 7,000 houses, levelled trees, knocked down electric poles and rained debris on people running for cover after house collapse.
The dead, largely fatally hit by flying corrugated iron roofs, included Golam Hossain, 30, Sathi, 5, Mukta, 40, Haji Akhtaruddin, 60, Rupchand, 16, Bakul, 25, Faruq, 8, Nur Jahan, 40, Asia, 75, Harun, 10, Alpana, 25, Jaheda, 14, Kajal, 20, Jubed Ali, 22, Noor Jahan, 40, and Adam Khan, 65.
Our Mymensingh correspondent adds: At least 18 people, including nine women and three children, were killed and 400 others injured when the tornado ripped through four villages in Haluaghat upazila.
The dead included Aklima, 12, Jinat Ali, 42, his daughter Tahera Khatun, 5, Anju Ara Khatun, Selina Khatun, 30, Mansura, 2, Shila, 4, Banesa, 20, Julmat Ali, 40, Abeng Deo, 35, Selina Azim, 20, Mohila Azim, 40, Pahela Patra, 20, Dr Gazi Shamsul Huda, 30, and Zhiti Kuda, 45.
Police said the violent twister, unheard of in the living memory in the area, razed over 300 houses to the ground in Gazir Bhita, Boalmara, Sumergulia Para and Surjopur villages.
'RUSH RELIEF'
"I have never ever seen such a monster twister rumble through our village," said 60-year-old Abdur Rahim of village Sumergulia.
"Most villagers are living in the open in the wake of the disaster. They are in dire need of food, shelter and medicine. The authorities should rush relief in the flattened villages," a villager said.
Russell Ahmed, a college student of the neighbourhood, said the death count could have climbed higher if people from neighbouring villages did not come to the rescue of the injured.
Our Moulvibazar correspondent adds: A nor'wester lashed four villages in Rajnagar upazila in the district, leaving 60 people injured and 450 houses damaged.
Over 300 people, injured in the tornadoes, are undergoing treatment in Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) and 400 others in Netrakona Sadar Hospital
and Haluaghat Health Complex.
President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday visited the MMCH to see the tornado-injured people. After a scheduled programme in the town, he went to the hospital and asked the doctors to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia expressed profound shock at the loss of life and property in the tornadoes and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina was planning a visit to the devastated villages today.
Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Relief and Disaster Management Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf and State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar rushed to the tornado-torn areas yesterday and distributed Tk 5 lakh in cash, 200 tonnes of rice and 2,000 bundles of corrugated iron sheets in Netrakona.
FARMS IN PERIL
The agriculture ministry said the tornadoes and a train of nor'westers at the beginning of this summer destroyed farm productions, especially boro rice, wheat, jute and summer vegetables on 6,850 hectares in 11 central, northern and northeastern districts.
The storms presented a drag on the production of boro in Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Netrakona, Naogaon, Bogra, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Rajshahi, Sirajganj, Sunamganj and Moulvibazar districts. The crop showed signs of good harvest this year.
The Netrakona tornado damaged 20 percent of crops and uprooted 11,000 fruit trees, officials told The Daily Star.
The tornado in Haluaghat destroyed watermelons on 40 hectares and played havoc with summer vegetables.
Boro, which contributes half of Bangladesh's annual rice output, was cultivated in 4 million hectares this year, up from 3.6 million hectares last year.
Despite a prolonged drought-like situation at an earlier stage of boro ripening season and power crisis-induced irrigation problems, officials expected 1.30 crore tonnes of yield this year, up from 1.22 crore tonnes last year.
Officials said the boro output would largely depend on the frequency and ferocity of tornadoes and nor'westers in the next two weeks.