Authorities have moved over 250,000 people of the five Upazilas lining the coast, including Sandwip, in Chittagong district to safety as cyclone Mahasen is likely to bear down by Thursday noon.
Published : 15 May 2013, 08:10 PM
Chittagong District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Abdul Malek told bdnews24.com more residents of the coastal belt would be evacuated by night.
He said some 100,000 people from Anwara Upazila, 60,000 people each from Banshkhali and Sandwip Upazilas, 23,000 from Sitakunda Upazila and 10,000 from Mirsarai Upazila were sent to cyclone shelter centres.
In addition, the Chittagong City Corporation has shifted some 10,000 people to safety from the port city's Patenga, Halishahar and Kathtali.
They were taken to 15 shelter centres of the coastal wards adjacent to the City Corporation, CCC Public Relations official Saifuddin Ahmed told bdnews24.com.
The storm caused by a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal moved slightly north-northeastwards and reached within around some 500 kilometres of Bangladesh coastline on Wednesday midnight.
The Meteorological Department has advised maritime ports of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar to keep hoisted the danger signal number ‘7’. Maritime port of Mongla has been advised to keep hoisted danger signal number five.
The coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola, Borguna, Patuakhali, Barisal and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal number seven.