Hundreds of thousands evacuated as cyclone hits Bangladesh coast
Authorities in Bangladesh have evacuated hundreds of thousands of people to safety as a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal made landfall in the country’s southern coast, officials said on Sunday.
The storm started crossing the coast in the southern district of Khepupara in Bangladesh and in parts of neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal at around 8 pm (1400 GMT), meteorologist Shamim Ahsan told a news briefing in Dhaka.
The cyclone, named Remal, was lashing the coast with wind speed up to 120 kilometres per hour, he said adding that it might take two hours for the centre to cross the coastline.
Earlier, the government moved more than 800,000 coastal residents to cyclone shelters, a Bangladeshi junior minister said, as the Remal, which the meteorologists categorized as Severe Cyclonic Storm, was heading towards the coast.
“Other people in the coastal areas were also asked to move to safety,” State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Muhibur Rahman said after a meeting over cyclone preparedness.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh has suspended flights at Shah Amanat International Airport in southern port city of Chattogram.
Weather permitting, the airport may resume operations on Monday morning, said Ibrahim Khalil, a press officer of the aviation authority in Chattogram.
The Bangladeshi coastline is often hit by deadly tropical cyclones that are formed in the Bay of Bengal.
More than 450,000 people have been killed in 12 major cyclones that have hit the Bangladeshi coastline since 1965, according to Bangladesh’s 2016 report on disaster management preparedness.
