DHAKA: Bangladesh has evacuated nearly 300,000 people as Cyclone Mora barrelled towards its southeastern coast at speeds of more than 85kmph, officials said Monday.

The cyclonic storm was 385km from the port city of Chittagong and likely to make landfall early Tuesday, meteorologists said.

Evacuation efforts were ongoing, with nearly 300,000 people already shifted to cyclone shelters, disaster management authority spokesman Abul Hashim said.

"We are targeting zero casualties and we will try our best to evacuate more than a million before the landfall," he told AFP.

Meteorologist Abdur Rahman said estimated wind speeds were between 89kmph to 117kmph, with torrential rain and thunder expected across the South Asian nation.

The met office warned coastal districts could face flooding as a result of storm surges along the seafront.

"We have advised the ports to hoist great danger signal number 10," Rahman said.

The local administration has called in all fishing vessels from the sea and advised them to remain anchored, while the Chittagong port authority has postponed activities.

Bangladesh is routinely hit by bad storms between April and December that cause deaths and widespread property damage.

In May last year, Cyclone Roanu hit the southern coast of Bangladesh leaving 20 people dead and forcing half a million to flee their homes.

Flash floods and excessive rain led to landslides in hilly areas, which caused most of the casualties.

"But this time we are more prepared," Hashim said. — AFP </s> DHAKA: Bangladesh has evacuated nearly 300,000 people as Cyclone Mora slammed its southeastern coast at speeds of more than 85 kilometres per hour, officials said on Monday (May 29).

The storm made landfall on the coast between Cox's Bazar and the main port city of Chittagong at 6am (8am,, Singapore time), the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a special weather bulletin.



Evacuation efforts were ongoing, with nearly 300,000 people already shifted to cyclone shelters, disaster management authority spokesman Abul Hashim said.

"We are targeting zero casualties and we will try our best to evacuate more than a million before the landfall," he told AFP.

Meteorologist Abdur Rahman said estimated wind speeds were between 89 to 117 kilometres per hour, with torrential rain and thunder expected across the South Asian nation.

The met office warned coastal districts could face flooding as a result of storm surges along the seafront. "We have advised the ports to hoist great danger signal number 10," Rahman said.

The local administration has called in all fishing vessels from the sea and advised them to remain anchored, while the Chittagong port authority has postponed activities.

Bangladesh is routinely hit by bad storms between April and December that cause deaths and widespread property damage.

In May last year, Cyclone Roanu hit the southern coast of Bangladesh leaving 20 people dead and forcing half a million to flee their homes.

Flash floods and excessive rain led to landslides in hilly areas, which caused most of the casualties. "But this time we are more prepared," Hashim said. </s> Cyclone Mora has hit Bangladesh, lashing the country’s south-eastern coast with heavy rain and winds.

The powerful storm made landfall on Tuesday morning between the fishing port of Cox’s Bazar and the city of Chittagong, with winds of up to 117 km/h (73mph), Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department said.

Authorities have been moving more than one million people to shelters.

Parts of India and Myanmar are also expected to be affected.

It comes after heavy rains in Sri Lanka caused floods and landslides that killed at least 180 people.

Bangladesh’s meteorological department had previously warned that low-lying areas of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong and many other coastal districts were “likely to be inundated” by a storm surge of 1.2m-1.5m (4-5 feet) above normal levels.

Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated to cyclone shelters, schools and government offices as of late Monday.

Fishing boats and trawlers have been advised to remain in shelters as well.

Severe weather tracking website Tropical Storm Risk forecasts that Cyclone Mora will move northwards past Chittagong over the next 12 hours, weakening as it moves further inland and downgrading from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.

No casualties have been reported, but Reuters said the cyclone has caused significant damage to refugee camps for Rohingya Muslims.

Community leader Shamsul Alam told the news agency that almost all 10,000 thatched huts in two camps were destroyed.

Large camps have been set up in Cox’s Bazar for hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya who have fled violence from neighbouring Myanmar.

The Bay of Bengal is prone to storms, and Bangladesh is often hit by severe weather during its rainy monsoon season from the middle to the end of the year. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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A cyclone grew in strength as it churned north towards Bangladesh on Monday after heavy rain in rural Sri Lanka and thunderstorms in eastern India killed almost 200 people, with more torrential downpours forecast.

AGALAWATTE, Sri Lanka: A cyclone grew in strength as it churned north towards Bangladesh on Monday after heavy rain in rural Sri Lanka and thunderstorms in eastern India killed almost 200 people, with more torrential downpours forecast.

Floods and landslides in tropical Sri Lanka, off India's southern tip, have killed at least 169 people in recent days, authorities said, with 24 killed in storms in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, either by lightning strikes or under collapsed village huts.

India warned of heavy rains in the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh as Cyclone Mora moved further up the Bay of Bengal.

Floods reached roof level and cut off access to many rural Sri Lankan villages, disrupting life for half a million people, many of them workers on rubber plantations, officials said.

Villagers in Agalawatte, in a key rubber-growing area 74 km (46 miles) southeast of the capital, Colombo, said they were losing hope of water levels falling soon after the heaviest rain since 2003. Fifty-three villagers died and 58 were missing.

"All access to our village is cut off. A landslide took place inside the village and several houses are buried," Mohomed Abdulla, 46, told Reuters.

Some areas in the southern coastal district of Galle, popular with foreign tourists, have not received relief due to lack of access.

"My entire village is cut off and nobody can come to this village," C.M. Chandrapla, 54, told Reuters by phone from the tourist village of Neluwa.

"There have been no supplies for the past two days. Water has gone above three-storey buildings and people survive by running to higher ground."

Bangladesh is hit by cyclones, many of them devastating, every year. Half a million people had their lives disrupted in low-lying coastal areas such as Barisal and Chittagong in May last year.

Authorities will relocate thousands from coastal areas before Mora hits, government officials said. About 10 million of Bangladesh's population of 160 million live in low-lying coastal areas.

"We have taken all sorts of steps to minimise any losses, including moving people away from the most vulnerable areas," Kazi Adbur Rahman, a senior government official in Cox's Bazaar, told Reuters by telephone.

The Sri Lankan military has sent in helicopters and boats in rescue efforts in the most widespread disaster since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. About 100 people were missing in total.

The meteorology department forecast torrential rains over the next 36 hours.

Residents in seven densely populated districts in the south and centre of Sri Lanka were asked to move away from unstable slopes in case of further landslides.

The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually during the southern monsoon, from May to September. The island also receives heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.

Reuters witnessed some people stranded on the upper floors of their homes. Civilians and relief officials in boats distributed food, water and other relief items.

One of the worst-hit areas was the southern coastal district of Matara which is home to black tea plantations. Rohan Pethiyagod, head of the Tea Board in the world's largest exporter of top quality teas, said supplies would be disrupted for the next auction due to a lack of transportation.

Sri Lanka has already appealed for international assistance from the United Nations and neighbouring countries. </s> * Some landslide, flood areas are not accessible-officials

AGALAWATTE, Sri Lanka, May 29 (Reuters) - A cyclone grew in strength as it churned north towards Bangladesh on Monday after heavy rain in rural Sri Lanka and thunderstorms in eastern India killed almost 200 people, with more torrential downpours forecast.

Floods and landslides in tropical Sri Lanka, off India's southern tip, have killed at least 169 people in recent days, authorities said, with 24 killed in storms in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, either by lightning strikes or under collapsed village huts.

India warned of heavy rains in the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh as Cyclone Mora moved further up the Bay of Bengal.

Floods reached roof level and cut off access to many rural Sri Lankan villages, disrupting life for half a million people, many of them workers on rubber plantations, officials said.

Villagers in Agalawatte, in a key rubber-growing area 74 km (46 miles) southeast of the capital, Colombo, said they were losing hope of water levels falling soon after the heaviest rain since 2003. Fifty-three villagers died and 58 were missing.

"All access to our village is cut off. A landslide took place inside the village and several houses are buried," Mohomed Abdulla, 46, told Reuters.

Some areas in the southern coastal district of Galle, popular with foreign tourists, have not received relief due to lack of access.

"My entire village is cut off and nobody can come to this village," C.M. Chandrapla, 54, told Reuters by phone from the tourist village of Neluwa.

"There have been no supplies for the past two days. Water has gone above three-storey buildings and people survive by running to higher ground."

Bangladesh is hit by cyclones, many of them devastating, every year. Half a million people had their lives disrupted in low-lying coastal areas such as Barisal and Chittagong in May last year.

Authorities will relocate thousands from coastal areas before Mora hits, government officials said. About 10 million of Bangladesh's population of 160 million live in low-lying coastal areas.

"We have taken all sorts of steps to minimise any losses, including moving people away from the most vulnerable areas," Kazi Adbur Rahman, a senior government official in Cox's Bazaar, told Reuters by telephone.

The Sri Lankan military has sent in helicopters and boats in rescue efforts in the most widespread disaster since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. About 100 people were missing in total.

The meteorology department forecast torrential rains over the next 36 hours.

Residents in seven densely populated districts in the south and centre of Sri Lanka were asked to move away from unstable slopes in case of further landslides.

The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually during the southern monsoon, from May to September. The island also receives heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.

Reuters witnessed some people stranded on the upper floors of their homes. Civilians and relief officials in boats distributed food, water and other relief items.

One of the worst-hit areas was the southern coastal district of Matara which is home to black tea plantations. Rohan Pethiyagod, head of the Tea Board in the world's largest exporter of top quality teas, said supplies would be disrupted for the next auction due to a lack of transportation.

Sri Lanka has already appealed for international assistance from the United Nations and neighbouring countries. (Additional reporting by Ranga Sirilal in Colombo and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Writing by Shihar Aneez and Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Nick Macfie) </s> At least 134 people have been killed in Bangladesh after landslides triggered by heavy rain buried hillside homes, officials say.

Densely populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods and landslides every rainy season.

The landslides hit three hilly districts in the south-east, killing 98 people in Rangamati, 30 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, head of the department of disaster management.

The death toll could rise further as rescuers search for bodies and many people are still missing, he said.

"Rescue operations are being hampered by bad weather while authorities are still struggling to reach some remote areas," Ahmed said.

The dead include four soldiers who had joined the rescue operation, said a spokesperson for the control room of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry in Dhaka.

The latest deaths came weeks after Cyclone Mora lashed Bangladesh's south-east, killing at least seven people and damaging tens of thousands of homes.

In 2007, about 130 people were killed in a landslide in Chittagong in the south-east. </s> 4 May 2019: According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s (BMD) Special Weather Bulletin No. 45, severe cyclonic storm “Fani” weakened into a deep depression located over the Paban-Tangail-Mymensingh region and adjoining area. Under the influence of “Fani,” the sky remains overcast and rain/thunder showers with gusty/squally wind is continuing at many locations throughout the country. Presently, windspeed of about 50-60 kilometers per hour is likely at many locations around the country, while windspeed of about 40-50 kilometers per hour is likely over the North Bay area. Under the influence “Fani” and the new moon phase, the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Chattogram, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Borguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barishal, Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars, are likely to be inundated by storm surges of two to four feet in height above normal astronomical tide levels. The whole country will experience heavy rainfall and storms today. After making landfall in Bangladesh, “Fani” will move towards Assam. “Though it weakened, Fani is still is a very severe cyclone. The whole country will experience rainfall and cyclonic storm on 4-5 May 2019,” said BMD’s Director Shamsuddin Ahmed.

The special report from Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, released on 3 May, anticipated risks of flooding and flash floods in the North/North-East districts of Jessore, Kustia,

 Rajshahi, Bogura and Natore, with heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding within the next 72 hours.

At a press conference, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) informed that 4,071 cyclone shelters in 19 coastal districts were prepared to shelter 2.1 million to 2.5 million persons. The MoDMR’s State Minister stated that 1,240,795 people from coastal regions were evacuated on 3 May to cyclone shelters, where dry food, medicine and drinking water was provided. All evacuees were requested to return home today. To date, the MoDMR has distributed 19-plus tons of rice, 50 million Bangladeshi Taka in cash assistance and distributed 41,000 dry food rations. A total of 32 naval vessels are positioned in Chittagong, Khulna, and Mongla to provide emergency relief and medical assistance. The operations of all civilian water vessels are still suspended until further notice. The Bangladesh Navy is currently undertaking a relief operation for thousands of people isolated on a char in Bhola, a district which has been severely impacted by the cyclone.

The Ministry of Health has informed that, so far, 14 people have lost their lives and that 43 people were injured, primarily due to lightning strikes and fallen trees in different parts of the country. In Barishal, most of the fishing boats which ventured into the deep sea have not yet returned to shore.
• None In Bagerhat, a 200-metre-wide embankment collapsed. Also, at least three villages in Bagerhat’s Shoronkhola area were flooded.
• None In Patuakhali, at least 17 villages were flooded due to the collapse of dykes in Kalapara, Mirzagonj and Rangabali, following the impact of the tidal surge. Standing crops in different districts were damaged.
• None In Cox’s Bazar’s remote island of Kutubdia, at least 20 villages were inundated.
• None In Bhola, more than 200 homes were destroyed.
• None In Gopalganj, farmers are at risk of losing their crops due to the looming threat of floods.

In the refugee camps, several shelters, latrines and health facilities were affected. Preliminary reports estimate that nearly 900 refugees were affected, including 211 who were displaced. BMD Special Weather Bulletin 45 announced that “Fani” had weakened into a deep depression, which triggered a lowering of the warning signal in Cox’s Bazar to Distant Cautionary Signal 3. As a result, the alert system in the camps also lowered its single flag warning.

While the impact of “Fani” is still unfolding in the North/North-East of the country, so far, the significant preparedness and immediate response measures taken by the authorities, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and volunteers have limited the loss of lives and the damage to property and infrastructure. However, immediate high risks remain as well as short/medium-term risks related to the possible loss of livelihood due to the impact of the cyclone which coincides with the early stage of the annual monsoon season.

The humanitarian community is monitoring the overall situation – in close collaboration with the national authorities and their partners – and is supporting the conveying of safety precautions to the communities at risk.

Today, the Director General of the Department of Disaster Management hosted a meeting with the members of the Needs Assessment Working Group. A detailed joint analytical report on the impact of the cyclone will be produced in 72 hours, starting tomorrow. Based on the report and, in agreement with the authorities, possible complementary response support from the humanitarian community will be discussed and agreed upon. </s> The number of evacuees rose from 6,090 to 27,621 on Tuesday, according to the latest figures released by the country's Disaster Management Centre

The death toll in Sri Lanka's monsoon rains has climbed to 10 while 27,621 people have been evacuated, officials said on Wednesday.

The number of evacuees rose from 6,090 to 27,621 on Tuesday, according to the latest figures released by the country's Disaster Management Centre.

Refuge has been sought in 194 shelters set up by the government. There are 84,943 people affected by the monsoon in the island country since last week, Efe news reported.

The rains were expected to continue for at least another 24 hours. The southern and western parts of the country were worst-affected, where 29 houses had been destroyed and 2,527 were partially damaged.

In June 2017, monsoon rains and cyclone Mora caused at least 212 deaths and 79 disappearances in Sri Lanka.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever. </s> The country's Disaster Management Centre said that the number of evacuees rose from the 27,621 announced on Wednesday to 54,205, most of whom sought refuge in 251 shelters set up by the government

Three more deaths have taken the toll due to heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka to 13 and the number of people evacuated to over 50,000, according to the latest official figures released on Thursday.

The country's Disaster Management Centre said that the number of evacuees rose from the 27,621 announced on Wednesday to 54,205, most of whom sought refuge in 251 shelters set up by the government.

The total number of people affected by the monsoon on the island since last week also climbed from the 84,943 announced a day earlier to 125,954 on Thursday, Efe news reported.

According to the weather forecast, the rains were expected to continue for the next three days so the Army deployed over 700 soldiers in emergency services while another 6,000 were on standby.

The southern and western parts of the country were the worst-affected, where 43 houses were destroyed and 3,225 were partially damaged.

Moreover, 143 critical infrastructures of the country were also damaged.

In June 2017, monsoon rains and cyclone Mora caused at least 212 deaths and 79 disappearances in the country.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
More than 300,000 people are evacuated in Bangladesh as Cyclone Mora approaches.