The Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar ports will continue to hoist danger signal 6. The Met department in its latest bulletin said that the cyclone is likely to move in a North-Northeasterly direction and may cross the West Bengal-Bangladesh border near Sundarbans.
In the latest special weather bulletin released on Wednesday morning, the Met Department said that Cyclone Amphan is now centered about 565 kilometers southwest of Chattogram port, 545 kilometers southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 390 kilometers southwest of Mongla port, and 410 kilometers southwest of Payra port.
The Met department warned that low-lying areas of coastal districts such as Satkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Bhola, Barisal, Noakhali, Chattogram, and their offshore islands are likely to be inundated by a storm surge of 10-15 feet above normal astronomical tide.
These areas are also likely to experience wind speeds of up to 140-160 kilometers per hour, along with heavy to very heavy rainfall during the storm’s passage.
The Met department has instructed all boats and trawlers in the North Bay and deep sea to take shelter immediately and not venture into the sea until further notice.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of people from the coastal areas of Bangladesh continues. The government has undertaken massive preparations to tackle the super cyclonic storm Amphan in the coastal belts of Khulna, Feni, Noakhali, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Patuakhali, Laxmipur, and Barguna districts.
According to the government, the evacuation process for 20 lakh people to over 12,000 cyclone shelters will be completed this morning. State Minister for Disaster Management Enamur Rahman told the media that district administrations in Khulna, Barisal, and Chattogram divisions are evacuating people to cyclone shelters while maintaining social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical teams, relief workers, and volunteers are working in the 19 districts of Bangladesh likely to be affected by the cyclone.
People from offshore islands called “Chars” are most vulnerable to cyclones. More than 70,000 have been brought to cyclone shelters on the mainland of Bhola. In other areas, the evacuation of people from Chars is also continuing.
Amphan is the first super cyclone to hit the region in over 20 years, after the 1999 cyclone.
