File Photo

By S M Zahid Hossain

KHULNA, Nov 29, 2025 (BSS) - People in the south-western coastal region, including the Sundarbans are remembering the catastrophic cyclone that struck Bangladesh nearly 37 years ago.

On November 29, 1988, a severe tropical cyclone hit the country with winds reaching approximately 125 mph and a storm surge of 5-10 feet. The disaster claimed an estimated 2,000 lives, making it the deadliest storm in the area since the 1970 Bhola cyclone.

The cyclone's early impact extended to parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, causing heavy rains, injuries, and fatalities. Damage to agriculture in the affected region was estimated at over $9 billion.

In Bangladesh, the cyclone breached major coastal embankments in the Khulna and Barishal divisions, allowing saline water to flood the low-lying areas. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) confirmed that 700 people were killed, while thousands of fishermen in the canals and inlets of the southern islands went missing.

Hundreds of bodies were recovered near Dublarchar Island, located 90 km off the coast, according to the Khulna Forest Conservator's office. 

Around 85 percent of village homes, mostly made of bush materials, were destroyed. Thousands of residents were displaced, many taking refuge in stone buildings such as schools and mosques. 

Injuries from falling walls and live electric wires were widely reported, and tidal surges contaminated most tube wells.

The cyclone destroyed thatched homes, schools, mosques, temples, roads, bridges, culverts, fish enclosures, crops, trees, and domestic animals.

Sheikh Mohammad Ali, an elderly journalist from Shoronkhola upazila in Bagerhat, recalled that the cyclone crossed the Raymongal River in the Sundarbans on the evening of November 29, 1988. 

"The low-lying areas of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Bhola, Barguna, Patuakhali, and surrounding regions were flooded," he said.

Data from the Forest Division showed that thousands of trees were uprooted and hundreds of wild animals, including tigers, deer, monkeys, and boars, were found dead in the Sundarbans the following day.

Ali, reporter of The Daily Ittefaq and Janmobhumi at the time, said, "Bodies of people and wildlife were scattered across Raymongal, Pushpakhati, Manderbari, Notabeki, Agunjala, Haldebuni, Vetkhali, Kaikhali, Aarpangasia, Bolewashar in the Sundarbans and the Pashur channel at Mongla and Shoronkhola."

The cyclone also caused extensive damage in Monpura, Nijhum Island, Charkukrimuri of Bhola, and other areas of Satkhira, Barguna, Pirojpur, and Patuakhali.

Harun Sheikh, a farmer from Koyra upazila in Khulna, told BSS, "I, along with my neighbours, lost loved ones during the cyclone. Memories of family members who died remain haunting. Due to the lack of burial space, many bodies had to be shrouded and floated down the river."

Even after 37 years, many affected families have not fully recovered. Despite immense hardships, residents of the region continue to live and survive along the embankments, often struggling with the loss of land and property.

Sheikh Moniruzzaman Monu, a resident of Koyra Sadar upazila said, "Due to repeated devastation from cyclones, many people have migrated to other parts of the country for livelihood. Survivors stress that strong and sustainable embankments are essential; without them, living in this coastal region would be impossible."