Chittagong port comes to a halt as Cyclone Mora approaches

The Chittagong port management has stopped container handling with Cyclone Mora now barely 450 km off the Bangladesh coast.

The Met office has already advised danger signal No. 7 for Chittagong.

 "Container handling at outer anchorage and jetty has been stopped since 10:30am," Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Omar Faruk told bdnews24.com on Monday.

But packages already unloaded from ships are being delivered, he said.

Leaves have been cancelled for doctors and nurses in the Chittagong district as part of the preparations to deal with the cyclone.

The Chittagong Port has also raised its own alert to level 3. Port workers were securing heavy machinery and its own vessels, said Secretary Faruk.

“The lighter vessels that carry goods are being taken closer to the shore,” he said.

Lighter vessels carry goods from ships lodged in high sea and transport them to the jetty and other places within the country.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority or BIWTA issued cautionary signal No. 2 for all river ports across the country.

Meanwhile, flights were continuing on schedule from the Shah Amanat International Airport, Wing Commander Reazul Kabir told bdnews24.com at 1pm.

“The situation still doesn’t call for closing of operation. But we’ll take all necessary precautions.”