Today is 26th April 2017. On this day in 1989 a devastating tornado ravaged Saturia upazila under Manikganj district. This day is still remembered by the people of Saturia with remorse even though twenty eight years have elapsed.
One of the direst tornadoes in the history of Bangladesh took place in Saturia on 26th April 1989. A heat wave flowed through Saturia since the morning of that day. It was Ramadan.
So, people were preparing for iftar at the evening. Just at that time dark clouds dusked the sky over Saturia. A whirlwind started right before Maghrib prayer and turned into a severe tornado which blew across Saturia fiercely. Wind speed was 180-350 kilometers per hour at that time.
The tornado lasted for less than one minute but it destroyed almost everything in around 20 villages of Saturia, Hargaz, Tilli and Fukurhati unions killing approximately 1, 300 people. Almost 12, 000 people were seriously wounded during the tornado and nearly one lakh people became homeless.
This tornado is considered as one of the deadliest calamities in the country's history for the devastation it caused. Some victims of that tornado are still alive bearing injuries caused by that disaster.
-Lutfur Rahman, Saturia (Manikganj)
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