Bangladesh launches massive evacuation as cyclone Remal approaches from Bay of Bengal

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Sunday launched an intensified evacuation campaign in vulnerable areas as it prepares for severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' forecast to make landfall by evening or midnight with a potential high tidal surge and heavy rainfall in the country's coastal districts of Satkhira and Cox's Bazar.

According to the latest cyclone warning bulletin, 'Remal' is likely to move in a northerly direction and may cross Sagar island of West Bengal-Khepupara coast near Mongla by evening or midnight, the BSS news agency reported.

"A large-scale evacuation has already started. All vulnerable people are presumed to be moved to safer places at the shortest possible time," Director General of the Department of Disaster Management Mizanur Rahman was quoted as saying by the BSS.

On Saturday, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibur Rahman said that the authorities have kept ready the cyclone centres and taken all types of preparations to tackle it.

"The district administration has turned social, educational and religious institutions to makeshift shelters alongside 4,000 designated cyclone shelters in coastal districts to accommodate a large number of people including the most vulnerable ones living in remote areas," Mohibur said.

"A total of 78,000 volunteers from the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) have been kept ready to deal with cyclone 'Remal' in the coastal district," he said.

Around 4,000 cyclone shelter centres have been readied in the coastal districts, equipped with adequate dry food supplies. Some 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers and others joined a campaign asking people at risk to move to safety alongside the government officials while the district administration mobilised transports to carry them to the cyclone shelters, the minister said.

Leaves of officials of all ministries, divisions and subordinate offices have been cancelled to tackle the possible aftermath of Cyclone Remal, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

The Chattogram Port Authority has suspended all operations in the port as cyclone Remal heads towards the coast, it said. According to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper, flight operations at the Chittagong airport have been suspended for eight hours.

On Sunday morning, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department asked the Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar ports to hoist great danger signal no 9, the paper said.

The coastal districts -- Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Bhola, and Patuakhali will also be under great danger signal number 10. Cyclone Remal has now intensified into a severe cyclonic storm.

At 9:00 am, the cyclone was centred about 380 km southwest of Chattogram port, 340 km southwest of Cox's bazar port, 295 km south of Mongla port and 265 km south of Payra port, said a bulletin issued by Hafizur Rahman, a meteorologist at BMD.

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.