Bangladesh braces for cyclone Roanu as it nears the coast

A ceaseless drizzle coupled with gusty winds have been reported from across the country as cyclone Roanu neared the coastal Bangladesh on Saturday.

The Met Office’s latest bulletin for Saturday predicted that the cyclone, which is covering 30 to 35 km per hour, is expected to make a landfall at Barisal and Chittagong coast sometime in the afternoon.

It said that at 9am the cyclonic storm was centred about 140 kms southwest of Chittagong port, 135 kms west of Cox’s Bazar port, 165 kms southeast of Mongla port and 75 kms south of Payra port.

Coastal districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola, Borguna, Patuakhali, Barisal, Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars will maintain danger signal number seven while the maritime port of Cox’s Bazar has been advised to maintain danger signal number six as per the bulletin.

It said that coastal areas might be inundated by storm surge of 4-5 feet height above normal tide.

The bulletin like previous ones, continued to advise fishermen not to venture deep into sea until further notice.

Squally weather and gusty winds with rain have been reported in the coastal area as well as in other parts of the country since Friday morning, intensifying as the day passed.

Three deaths have been reported from the coastal districts of Bhola and Patuakhali early on Saturday after strong winds led to uprooted trees and collapsed houses .

Orissa and Andhra Pradesh in south-eastern India are also experiencing heavy rains and large-scale landslides were reported from Sri Lanka during the build up of the cyclone 

The Disaster Management and Relief Ministry said all precautions are in place to meet the calamity.

>> The weekend holiday for officials in the districts that are likely to be affected have been cancelled to deal with any eventuality.

>> Ansar and VDP, Cyclone Preparedness Programme committees, Red Crescent Society and other agencies are working in tandem at the Upazilla and Union levels.

>> All personnel of disaster response teams have been asked to remain present at their designated offices to distribute relief material if needed.

>> Divisional Commissioners of regions in danger have been asked to keep dry food and potable water ready.

>>The Mongla and Chittagong docks have been closed due to bad weather.

>>The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has suspended operation of all boats and steamers due to the hostile weather condition.

What the signals mean

>> Weather.com says that the Roanu may not have the intensity to cause any major devastation but it could produce heavy rainfall in Bangladesh and adjoining India and Myanmar, leading to landslides.

>> A maximum sustained wind-speed of up to 97kmph and gusty winds up to 121 kmph can be expected near the centre of the cyclone.

>> A cyclone of that speed is categorised as a Type-2 cyclone.

>> On April 29, 1991, a cyclone having wind speeds up to 250kmph had left Chittagong devastated.