Minutes after I posted the previous post, a storm seems to have come to this part of Dhaka City. Fierce winds and rain have reduced visibility to almost nothing. The power got knocked out and I’m writing in the dark now.
I’m feeling a bit of deja-vu. The last time I wrote about a storm during a blackout, it was when Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh. I certainly hope Monsoon Season isn’t coming early. There are still people recovering from the damage left by Cyclone Sidr – it’s too soon for another disaster.
…… Not that there is ever a good time for a disaster. 
[UPDATE: There's also a lot of thunder now. The winds must be stronger than I thought because the heavy gate at the entrance to the building I am currently staying in is rattling like mad. Rain is actually getting heavier. Usually, if it rains for more than a few hours, my grandmother's home gets flooded. I will have to give her a call and check up on her first thing in the morning.]
As reported by Reuters, I can confirm the national power grid has failed. The entire country is in a blackout. I have four minutes of battery left. Further updates will be available when power returns. Not sure when. Power started cutting out in the morning but it came back earlier today and then went out again.
Unfortunately, this means a lot of people won’t have water either as many homes use an electric pump to store water in a holding tank. The place I am staying at currently has neither water nor electricity.
Anyways gotta go before my laptop battery dies.
The sound of generators now fills the streets of Dhaka – power hasn’t come back since last night. I was kind of hoping that this would be like other blackouts I’ve experienced – where some regions would have power and others not. But, after talking to relatives in Shantinagar, Mohakhali DOHS, Gulshan/Baridhara – it seems like this is a city-wide blackout. That’s a first during my stay here in Bangladesh.
The BBC is reporting that at least fifty people are reported dead in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, not many people in Bangladesh will have access to news – no electricity, means no TV. The cell phones and celluar internet connections still work though which is how I’m able to post this blog.
I plan on going out later today and hopefully will have some photos that I can share. Apparently, after talking to a relative in another part of town, exploding transformers like that one I saw yesterday was not an uncommon occurrence last night.
It felt like something out of a movie. I was in a car on the way home – it was fifteen minutes to midnight. There wasn’t a soul on the street and the only sounds you could hear were the rain beating down on the streets, the noise of the wind, and the car’s engine. It was pitch black too – every home, apartment, and building as far as the eye could see had no electricity. Then – all of a sudden – a blinding bright light and a roar erupts right next to the car – just outside of my side of the car. My window then gets showered in glowing sparks.
I wasn’t in any danger – it was just a transformer exploding. But, for the first time in this whole time in Bangladesh – I was scared…
I’m writing this on my battery’s laptop power. The glow of the screen is the only thing that is lighting up this room. Now, this isn’t the first time there’s been a blackout – but this time it’s different. This isn’t the first time its rained – but this it’s different. It’s different because, this time it’s caused by Cyclone Sidr. It hit the coats of Bangladesh at approximately 6 pm local time and hasn’t stopped.
The good news… well… ummm… the good news for me at least – is that I’m pretty safe here in Dhaka. It’s just a nasty storm with heavy rain. Although, it’s heavy enough that the streets are getting water logged/flooded, things are getting really cold, and the winds are creating a widespread problem with the electrical grid. From the more modern areas where foreigners live (Gulshan) to old parts of the city (Shatinagar) – all have experienced or are experiencing blackouts tonight.
If this cyclone has this effect for people in the city, I can only imagine how things are on the coastline – where many of the rural poor live. BBC is reporting tidal waves of 3 meters in height with homes, schools, and trees just blown away. Many have been displaced and those who aren’t displaced have lives disrupted.
My latest episode on YouTube talks about being trapped in the cycle of poverty. It seems like even Mother Nature makes it hard for people to pull themselves out of the trap that is poverty.
