Tropical cyclone Remal strikes Bangladesh, India

By Christopher Wells

Some two million people in Bangladesh and India are in the path of tropical cyclone Remal, the first major storm of the 2024 monsoon season.

Remal made landfall in Bangladesh on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 120 kmh.

Over one million people had already been evacuated ahead of the storm, with heavy rains and strong winds threatening to destroy homes made of clay, wood, plastic sheets, straw, and tin.

Bangladesh’s state minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibbur Rahman, told the Reuters news agency that the country has set up nearly 8,000 cyclone shelters and mobilised almost 80,000 volunteers.

Refugees at risk

Stateless Rohingya refugees are among those most at risk. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar due to ethnic and religious persecution and are living in makeshift camps that are particularly susceptible to landslides and flooding.

Disaster relief forces have also been deployed in the Indian state of West Bengal, which borders Bangladesh. Flights from Kolkata, the state capital, were suspended ahead of the storm.

As yet, no deaths have been reported from the storm, which weakened after making landfall.

Cyclones routinely strike the area during monsoon seasons, but experts worry that climate change has increased the intensity of storms, with a corresponding increase in the risk to the population.