Cyclone Jawad, despite losing steam, was still strong enough to trigger a collapse in an embankment at Mousuni island, sandwiched between Gangasagar and Bakkhali, on the western fringes of the Sunderbans, marooning thousands.

Jawad is expected to hit Sunderbans between Sunday midnight and early Monday morning with a wind speed of 50kmph and enhanced rainfall, pointed out G.K. Das of IMD Alipore, and may cause greater damage to Mousuni, if it overlaps with major high tides in the range of 16 to 18 feet as predicted by the Calcutta Port Trust.

“About 50 metres of the embankment near the confluence of Chinai river with Bay of Bengal has been damaged in the Baliara mouza because of the combined impact of Jawad and high tide,” pointed out Mousuni block development officer (BDO) Santanu Sinha Roy. He admitted the damage may deepen with more high tides, rain and strong wind.

Close to 5,000 people over two mouzas, Baliara and Mousuni, have been affected. Many have been shifted to a flood shelter and a high school.

Mousuni island, comprising four mouzas, has been severely hit by cyclones, from Bulbul to Amphan and Yaas. It is held up as an example of the increasing impact of climate change in the Sunderbans.

Residents claim poor construction of a sluice gate in the Chinai caused Sunday’s damage. “Part of a sluice gate, constructed after Amphan in the eastern part of Chinai, has given way. There should be an enquiry on its construction,” said resident Sahadeb Maity. Another resident, Probhonjon Mondal, pointed out on Sunday evening that “over 100 metres of the embankment had already collapsed.

Sinha Roy admitted to “an issue with the sluice gate” but added that the irrigation department would quickly do the repairs. “The embankment was already weak” said the official.

Mondal expressed concern that major high tides, during Sunday late night and Monday, may further damage the embankment.

An official claimed “the damage could be minimised as tourists have not been allowed in Mousuni as a precaution against Jawad”. Innumerable hotels have come up in Baliara mouza, near the sea beach, at Mousuni, flouting environment norm, in recent years, close to the area the embankment was breached.

“It is bizarre why we can’t put up strong embankments at the earliest in islands like Mousuni , already known as extremely vulnerable to extreme weather events because of climate change,” said an environmental expert.