Crops on around 171,109 hectares of land across the country have been affected by cyclonic storm Remal and subsequent heavy rain, the Ministry of Agriculture has said.

A preliminary assessment of the damage over two days (26-27 May) was provided by Kamrul Islam, spokesman for the ministry, on Thursday.

A report from the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said the agricultural impact of the cyclone was felt in 48 districts.

The damage was particularly severe in six coastal districts ¬¬– Barishal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Patuakhali, Barguna, and Bhola. Besides, four districts in Khulna division – Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, and Narail, and three districts in Chattogram division – Noakhali, Lakshmipur, and Cox’s Bazar – also suffered severe agricultural damage during the cyclone.

It will take seven to eight days to determine the full extent of the damage, according to officials.

The current amount of cropland in the districts is over 1.4 million hectares, while the amount of affected cropland is 171,109 hectares.

During the cyclone, 10,843 hectares of Aush seedbeds, 21,434 hectares of Aush paddy, 7,730 hectares of Boro paddy and 4,826 hectares of Aman paddy were affected.

Furthermore, 52,190 hectares of summer vegetable plants, 29,749 hectares of jute plants, 7,536 hectares of sesame plants, 3,507 hectares of mung bean plants, and 2,444 hectares of betel leaf plants were damaged.

In the category of fruits, 4,708 hectares of mango trees, 1,575 hectares of lychee trees, and 7,613 hectares of banana plantations were damaged in the cyclone.

On 22 May, a low-pressure formed in the east-central and adjoining west-central parts of the Bay of Bengal, which turned slowly into a well-marked low-pressure, then a depression, a deep depression, and finally a cyclonic storm on Saturday evening.