A tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal heading towards Bangladesh has prompted local authorities to plan the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of coastal residents, officials said on Monday.
“We have prepared cyclone shelters to accommodate some 2.5 million people in 15 coastal districts,” Enamur Rahman, state minister for relief and disaster management, said in Dhaka.
More than 70,000 volunteers are working to move residents to makeshift shelters.
The tropical storm is likely to make landfall later on Monday.
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The Dhaka Met office said the depression-turned-cyclone, codenamed Sitrang, was only 300 kilometers away from Bangladesh’s south-western Mongla port.
It may move towards Bangladesh’s coast with wind speeds of between 75 and 88 kilometres per hour, according to the weather bulletin.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) ordered suspension of flight operations at three airports until Tuesday.
In response to nationwide cyclone preparedness measures, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority halted passenger operation at all river routes.
