Bangladesh raises warning signal No. 4 as Cyclone Sitrang hurtles in

The cyclone is moving northwards towards the coasts and Met Office predicts the sea around it will be “very rough”

The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has transformed into a cyclonic storm and is likely to “intensify further” as it moves northwards, prompting the Meteorological Department to ask the seaports to hoist warning signal No. 4.

The cyclone, named Sitrang by Thailand, formed over east-central bay and adjoining west-central bay and was centred about 770km southwest of Chattogram port, 710km southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 700km south-southwest of Mongla port and 675km south-southwest of Payra port, a Met Office bulletin read on Sunday.

The statement mentioned that sustained wind speed within 54km of the cyclone centre was about 62 kmph rising to 82 kmph in gusts. The sea will remain “very rough” near the cyclone centre.

Under the peripheral effect of Sitrang, north bay and the adjoining coastal areas of the country are likely to experience gusty winds blowing at 40-50 kmph along with heavy to very heavy rainfall, it added.

The government has geared up for rescue and relief work following a forecast that 19 districts are “at risk” of falling in the path of the cyclone.

Enamur Rahman, state minister for disaster management and relief, on Sunday said the cyclone shelters were all cleaned up while 1,000 packets of dry food, 25 tonnes of rice and Tk 500,000 were sent to each district.

“We’ve also spoken to the deputy commissioners,” he said.

The regions considered to be “at risk” are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Patuakhali, Barguna, Bhola, Pirojpur, Barishal, Jhalakathi, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Faridpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj and Shariatpur.

The depression has triggered drizzles in different parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka and the Met Office predicted tidal surges to rise 5-7ft higher than usual and inundate the low-lying coastal districts due to the new moon phase and steep pressure gradient.

Earlier, the Indian weathermen said the cyclone might sweep along the coasts of Barishal’s Tinkona Island and Chattogram’s Sandwip on Tuesday dawn if it maintains current trajectory.

However, the cyclone's relative lack of intensity is likely to be offset by its wide range of impact. "We expect it to affect more areas than any storm in the last three years," said Enamur.

All fishing boats and trawlers over north bay and deep sea were advised to remain in shelter until further notice.