Bangladesh is evacuating more than 800,000 people due to the approaching Cyclone Remal
The Chattogram Port Authority has suspended all operations at the port as Cyclone Remal heads towards the coast, the report said. (Representative image)
More than 800,000 people from vulnerable areas were evacuated to shelters on Sunday as Bangladesh prepares for the severe cyclonic storm ‘Remal’, which is expected to make landfall by midnight with a potential high tidal wave and heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Satkhira and Cox’s Bazar of the country.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said Remal would make landfall between 6pm and midnight.
The Met Office issued “major danger signal number 10 on a scale of 10 for the south-west greater Barisal and its shoals and major danger signal number nine for the south-eastern coastlines, including the port city of Chattogram.
“Under the peripheral effect of the severe cyclone and the steep pressure gradient, the low lying areas of the coastal districts… and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by a wind-driven wave of 08 to 12 feet height above sea level . normal astronomical tide, news agency BSS reported, citing the latest American bulletin.
Minister of State for Disaster Management and Relief Mohibur Rahman told a press conference that more than eight lakh people were evacuated to cyclone centers and other safer places.
“We have urgently taken all necessary measures to deal with the severe cyclonic storm. All relevant organizations have been asked to work together in a coordinated manner to tackle the cyclone, he said.
The minister said authorities have launched an intensified evacuation campaign to move all vulnerable people to safety as the meeting office asked the ports of Payra and Mongla to hoist major danger signal number 10, while this morning it issued nine for the ports of Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram.
We hope that we can bring all vulnerable people living in 19 districts to the cyclone centers before the cyclone makes landfall, he said.
Leaves of officials from all ministries, divisions and subordinate offices have been canceled to deal with the possible aftermath of Cyclone Remal, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
The Chattogram Port Authority has suspended all operations at the port as Cyclone Remal heads towards the coast, the report said.
Flight operations at Chittagong airport were suspended for eight hours, according to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
National carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced the suspension of its flights to Cox’s Bazar on Sunday due to cyclonic storm Remal. Moreover, BG395 and BG391 flights to Kolkata will remain suspended today and tomorrow, said Bosra Islam, general manager of Public Relations Department of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, local media reported.
According to a special BMD news bulletin issued on Sunday afternoon, Remal was located 335 km south-west of Chattogram maritime port, 315 km south-west of Cox’s Bazar port, 220 km south of Mongla port and 200 km south from the port of Payra.
“Wind speeds are 90 to 120 kilometers per hour within 62 kilometers of the center of the cyclone, creating a risk of a tidal surge of up to 3 meters along the coast, an official meteorologist said.
“A large-scale evacuation began after the Met Office issued danger signals number 10 and nine. All vulnerable people are supposed to be shifted to safer places within the shortest possible time,” Mizanur Rahman, director of disaster management, told BSS.
Besides the evacuation of the people, pets have been taken to designated cyclone shelters, he said, adding that a total of 8,464 cyclone shelters, including Mujib Kella, have been kept ready to provide shelter to the people living in 19 coastal areas. hit by Cyclone Remal.
Sufficient food is available for the people living in the cyclone centres, in addition to residents of 19 coastal districts, Mizanur said. He said all upazila and district administrations have sufficient funds to provide quick response to the people who will be affected by the cyclone.
“We have also kept 1,185 medical teams on standby to provide emergency healthcare to the people as Cyclone Rimel could hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh with tremendous force,” the disaster management chief said.
As Cyclone Remal has become intense, it took more time to make landfall, he said. “We need to manage the cyclone carefully to minimize damage.”
The coastal areas under cyclone threat are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Feni, Comilla, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Chandpur.
The officials of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief said that 78,000 volunteers of the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) have been kept ready to deal with ‘Remal’ in the coastal area.
Some 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers joined and others joined a campaign asking people at risk to move to safety with government officials, while the district administration mobilized transport to take them to cyclone shelters .
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in this pre-monsoon season and is named Remal (meaning sand in Arabic) according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: May 26, 2024 | 8:33 PM IST