Saturday, August 1, 2015

Tropical Cyclone Komen Remnants Soaking Waterlogged Bangladesh, Myanmar, India; Dozens Reported Dead

Nick Wiltgen
Published: August 1,2015

A slow-moving monsoon depression unleashed lethal amounts of rain in South Asia earlier this week prior to forming into a tropical cyclone over the northern Bay of Bengal Wednesday. The cyclonic storm named Komen reached tropical storm strength and moved inland Thursday. The remnant area of low pressure - which the India Meteorological Department is classifying as a depression - was centered near the border between India and Bangladesh as of Saturday. It has the potential to further drench this region, which is already reeling from flooding and mudslides that have claimed dozens of lives.
India is the latest country to see deadly impacts from the persistent rainfall. The Associated Press is reporting that 21 people are feared dead after a mudslide hit the village of Joumol in the Manipur state of northeast India.
The India Meteorological Department has issued heavy rainfall warnings. The states of Manipur, West Bengal and Odisha have been impacted, with roads and highways cut off, and over 30,000 people are in shelters, according to the Indian Broadcasting Network.
For about a week, heavy rainfall has also been pounding parts of Bangladesh and parts of neighboring Myanmar.

Extreme Rainfall
Even for a region where average July rainfall exceeds 600 millimeters (2 feet), the rains have been exceptional. The coastal city of Chittagong reported more than 800 millimeters (32 inches) of rain in just a three-day period, July 24 through 26.
Much of southeastern Bangladesh has seen repeated heavy rainfall on a daily basis over the past week. The results have been deadly. Five people died in a landslide in Cox's Bazar Monday, according to the Bangladesh-based Daily Star. Four others were pulled from the mud alive. Two other people drowned in flooding elsewhere in the town of 52,000 residents, the report said. Cox's Bazar has reported more than three feet of rain since July 24, exceeding its already high monthly average rainfall of 924.6 millimeters (36.40 inches), according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department climate data.
After the depression became Cyclone Komen, additional casualties were reported along the coast of Bangladesh Wednesday.
The Daily Star said a boat capsized in rough seas off Cox's Bazar Wednesday, killing two and leaving six missing. Falling trees were blamed for two deaths, and a boy died when a wall collapsed onto him. The cyclone was also blamed for the death of a newborn who succumbed to respiratory disease while being carried to a cyclone shelter by her parents.
While official rainfall totals are harder to come by in Myanmar, the effects have been as devastating or worse. At least 27 people were reported dead due to flooding in western and central parts of that country, according to a report from the BBC. Some 17,000 homes had been destroyed as of Monday from the days-long deluge, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
According to The Irrawaddy, a news portal covering Myanmar, power is out in several impoverished townships in the western part of the country, and a local leader voiced concern the damage may be heavier than local resources can handle. The BBC reported on Saturday that Myanmar's president declared a state of emergency in four regions due to the flooding.

Current Enhanced Satellite
The monsoonal depression that spawned Komen moved offshore from Bangladesh before strengthening over the Bay of Bengal, but it soon reversed course and moved back toward shore. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the center of Komen made landfall along the coast of southeastern Bangladesh between Hatiya and Sandwip late Thursday afternoon local time. (Bangladesh is 10 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.)

Rainfall Forecast
Stay with The Weather Channel and weather.com as we continue to follow this dangerous situation in South and Southeast Asia.
MORE: Cyclone Viyaru (formerly Mahasen), Bangladesh, May 2013

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