Dhaka (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of families have been evacuated from their homes in over a dozen coastal districts of Bangladesh as a severe cyclone heads in from the Bay of Bengal. The storm, described as category 4 is dangerously heading north. It is likely to make landfall in Bangladesh by tomorrow packing winds of more than 210 kilometres per hour, and may also hit parts of eastern India. The biggest risk however is that it may also trigger tidal surge up to 10 feet in some areas, causing thousands of victims in the densely populous area. At the moment the eye of the storm lies 500 km off the Bengal coast but is increasing in intensity.
The Bangladesh Meteorology Department raised danger signal number 10, the highest, at Mongla, Bangladesh's second main sea port, and number 9 at Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, the main port and prime tourist resort respectively. Authorities have deployed more than 40,000 volunteers, police, troops, coastguards and health workers on the shoreline, where nearly 10 million people live in an area with storm shelters for around only half a million.
Chittagong port suspended operations and moved ships to safer areas, while Chittagong airport has also suspended flights. Met officials said the storm was expected to hit Vishakapatnam on the eastern Indian coast as well as Sittewe in Myanmar.