The severe cyclonic storm “Remal” has caused a huge economic loss of over Tk900 crore to the fisheries and livestock sectors across the country, according to an official report published on Wednesday.
In the latest report compiled by the Department of Fisheries and Livestock Sector, a huge economic loss of Tk906.63 crore was caused in the fisheries and livestock sectors due to the devastative cyclone “Remal” in most of the coastal districts in the country at the beginning of this week. Due to the severe cyclone, 15 people were killed, and about 800,000 people in coastal areas were forced to leave their homesteads and seek shelter. The wind speeds at the time of the main impact were between 90 and 120 kmph, along with a high tide up to 10 feet that broke the embankment and submerged a vast area of the coast, which resulted in damage to houses, crops, and livestock, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management.
According to the fisheries department, the severe cyclonic storm Remal caused a financial loss of Tk858 crore, to the fisheries sector, which includes the inundation of ponds, enclosures, hatcheries, fisheries, shrimp, fish fries, and crabs due to heavy rain, floods, and tidal surges at eighty-eight upazilas of sixteen coastal districts under the Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, and Dhaka divisions.
The cyclone affected fisheries of over 20,523 metric tons, shrimp of over 7,943 metric tons, fish fries of over 1627 metric tons, crab or Kuchia of over 253 metric tons, and post-larva (PL) of over 590 metric tons in eighteen districts under Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, and Dhaka divisions. The infrastructural loss of the fisheries sector was over Tk61.59 crore at 468 unions of eighty-eight upazilas under the four divisions, said the report.
The estimated loss of the fisheries was over Tk330.76 crore, shrimp of over Tk339.29 crore, fish fries of over Tk98.62 crore, crabs or kuchia of over Tk 22.09 crore, and post larva of over Tk14.73 crore. The cyclone affected 663 trawlers and boats at a cost of Tk2.67 crore and damaged fishing nets worth over Tk1.73 crore. Division-wise economic loss calculated that the financial loss of the fisheries sector in Khulna division was over Tk722 crore, over Tk98.44 crore was in Barisal division, over Tk18.72 crore was in Chittagong division, and over Tk19.33 crore financial loss took place in Dhaka division, the report displayed.
In addition to this, the estimated loss of the livestock and poultry sector was Tk47 crore, which includes damages to livestock farms, live cattle, and poultry farms under the three coastal divisions of Barishal, Khulna and Chittagong.