DHAKA (HRNW) – Authorities in Bangladesh were evacuating hundreds of thousands of people on Monday before Cyclone Sitrang made landfall amid fears of heavy damage to houses and crops and the disruption of road and power links.
Approaching from the Bay of Bengal, Sitrang was expected to hit the southern coast near the Khepupara area of the Barishal-Chittaging early on Tuesday, with winds gusting up to 88 km (55 miles) per hour, the weather office said.
It forecast a storm surge of up to three meters (10 feet) that could swamp mud dwellings along the coast, uproot communication towers and inundate roads.
All the people from the dangerous areas along the coastal belt were being evacuated to safer places, said Enamur Rahman, the junior minister for disaster management.
More than 7,000 cyclone shelters were set up to accommodate 3 million people, he said.
A woman was killed by a falling tree in southwestern Narail district, local police said.
“It has been raining heavily all day long. We are just praying to Allah to save us,” rohingya refugee Mohammed Taher told Reuters by phone.