Thousands Seek Shelter From Flood

Nearly 10,000 people rushed to cyclone shelters when an unusually high tide submerged their island village off the Bangladeshi coast for nearly three hours, officials said. At least 2,000 mud-and-bamboo huts were flooded as a depression over the Bay of Bengal caused the sea to rise, submerging Sandwip Island under six feet of water, the meteorological office said. The residents, mostly fishermen, moved to concrete cyclone shelters on higher ground, said Golam Rabbani, the area’s disaster management official. The tide ebbed after almost three hours, but a flood protection embankment around the low-lying island blocked the water from flowing out, Rabbani said.