Unseen Comprehension-43 Alim (Sidr)

Sidr.

সিডর।

'Sidr' is one of the fiercest cyclones. It causes massive havoc to lives and liabilities. The devastating cyclone 'Sidr' hit the southern part of  Bangladesh on the night following Thursday, November 15, 2007. It has been described as a category 4 cyclone (deadlier than Katarina) and had raised its severest, onslaughts packing winds of 240 km/hr on the southern coast of Bangladesh. The hurricane 'Sidr' came from the bay of Bengal. It managed to ravage the lives of thousand of inhabitants of the coastal region. The storm killed over three thousand people and the red Crescent estimated that it can reach up to 10 thousand or more in the end. The cyclone left its mark of devastation affecting a population of 3.144 million about 88.700 families of 22  districts of southern Bangladesh. The storm killed thousands of live stick and completely destroyed crops on 23,122 acres of land. According to an estimate, 2,73,000 houses were totally flattened, with 58 km-roads totally destroyed and another 1,363 km damaged. A quarter of the flora of  World Heritage Site, the Sunderbans, was totally destroyed while a large number of its fauna perished. A massive health hazard loomed large over the areas badly hit by 'Sidr' as an acute shortage of drinking water resulting in some fatal diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid started to claim lives. After all, Sidr has brought an extra burden to the country's sluggish economy. However , many scientists and environmentalist believe that global warming, environmental pollution, ecological imbalance etc. are the main culprits, contributing to the occurance of this demonic 'Sidr'.