India and Bangladesh brace for year's first cyclone

A dog walks on the debris of the damaged tourist lodges along a beach front following Cyclone Yaas in Shankarpur, Purba Medinipur district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India, May 27, 2021. REUTERS

Bangladesh and India braced for the first cyclone of the year as a storm with wind speeds of up to 120 kmh (75 mph) is set to make landfall late on Sunday, India's weather department said.

The Bangladesh weather office raised its storm danger signal to the highest level of 10 on Sunday for two ports and nine coastal districts in the South Asian nation, announcing warnings over loudspeakers.

The low-lying coasts of the South Asian neighbours have experienced frequent severe storms in recent years. Cyclone Yaas in 2021 left more than 50,000 people homeless and killed at least one.

Bangladesh has set up nearly 8,000 cyclone shelters and 78,000 volunteers have been mobilised, the state minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibbur Rahman, told Reuters.

"We are maintaining regular communication with the regional specialized meteorological centre in India," he said.

India has deployed its disaster relief force in the eastern state of West Bengal. Flights have been suspended at major metropolitan city of Kolkata.

Parts of West Bengal have started experiencing bouts of moderate rainfall, and the government has cancelled leave for employees in essential services, a weather official said.

"In Kolkata, conditions were overcast but life was normal," Somnath Dutta, head of weather forecast section in regional meteorological centre in Kolkata, told Reuters.

Pictures on social media platform X showed the disaster management team alerting tourists at a beach in West Bengal.