Cyclone Mora weakens into land depression, warnings lowered

Cyclone Mora has weakened into a land depression and now hovers over the hilly region of Rangamati as it crossed the Cox's Bazar-Chittagong coast leaving at least six people dead in its wake.

The Met office has lowered its storm alerts to local cautionary signal No. 3 for maritime ports in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra.

All fishing boats and trawlers over the north Bay of Bengal and deep sea have been advised to remain in shelter until 9pm and to proceed with caution afterwards.

The cyclone moved further north and finally weakened in the Indian state of Tripura that borders with Bangladesh, senior meteorologist Bazlur Rashid told bdnews24.com.

The rain dumped by the storm in the coastal districts is expected to stop by Wednesday, he said.

At least six people died in three districts after the cyclone hit the Bangladesh coast early Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of damaged houses and trees in Cox's Bazar town, St Martin’s Island, Kutubdia and Teknaf.

The cyclone made landfall around 6am on Tuesday in Kutubdia, an offshore island of Cox's Bazar with wind speeds of over 100km per hour.

The maximum wind speed in Teknaf was recorded at 135 kilometres per hour, when the cyclone hit the coast.

Cox's Bazar town saw winds of up to 114km and Chittagong 128km per hour.

Five hours after the cyclone hit the coast, Shamsuddin Ahmed, a director at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told bdnews24.com that the storm had started to weaken.

The accounts of damage started to emerge in the afternoon after the storm crossed the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar coast.

Road Transport Minister Obiadul Quader told the media in Dhaka that almost 20,000 homes have been damaged in the coastal districts.

Four persons died in Cox's Bazar and Rangamati, hit by falling trees as the cyclone cut its path through.

A child died in Bhola, one of the most vulnerable districts in the south, while moving into a cyclone shelter.

The Met office was expecting a four-to-five-feet high sea surge during the storm but it turned out to be lower as the cyclone made landfall during low tide.