Bangladesh evacuates 800,000 as severe cyclone approaches from Bay of Bengal

The storm is expected to cross the Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal coasts around midnight Sunday. The India Meteorological Department said it is expected to reach maximum wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 135 kph hitting West Bengal’s Sagar Island and Bangladesh’s Khepupara region on Sunday night.

Bangladesh’s junior minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibur Rahman, said volunteers have been deployed to evacuate people to 4,000 cyclone shelters across the country’s coastal region. The government also closed all schools in the region until further notice.

People take shelter at a cyclone shelter before the Cyclone Remal hits the country in the Shyamnagar area of Satkhira, Bangladesh, May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

India’s Kolkata airport will be closed for 21 hours from midnight Sunday. Bangladesh shut down the airport in the southeastern city of Chattogram and cancelled all domestic flights to and from Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladeshi authorities also suspended loading and unloading in the country’s largest seaport in Chittagong and started moving more than a dozen ships from the jetties to the deep sea as a precaution.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal ahead of this year’s monsoon season, which runs from June to September.

A boy carries his belongings as he moves to a cyclone shelter before the Cyclone Remal hits the country in the Shyamnagar area of Satkhira, Bangladesh, May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected in most places over coastal districts in India’s West Bengal state. A storm surge about 1 metre high is expected to flood low-lying areas of coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Such storms can uproot trees and cause major damage to thatched homes and power and communication lines, according to a statement.

India’s coasts are often hit by cyclones, but changing climate patterns have caused them to become more intense, making preparations for natural disasters more urgent.

AP

Photo by Reuters