By IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh alerted its security forces along the Bay of Bengal coast and warned fishermen not to venture out to the sea as cyclone Sidr closed in Thursday.
The meteorological office here said the cyclone was likely to cross the Khulna-Barisal coastline by noon Thursday, the New Age newspaper reported.
The sustained wind speed within 74 km of the storm centre is about 190 kmph, rising to 210 kmph in gusts and squalls, a special bulletin of the Storm Warning Centre here said.
The Rapid Action Battalion, army, navy, police, and other forces in the coastal areas of Bangladesh have been asked to stand by.
The storm with its eye over the east central Bay of Bengal moved northwards, strengthened further and was centred Wednesday about 755 km south-southwest of Chittagong Port, 675 km south-southwest of Cox’s Bazar and 705 km south of Mongla Port, covering much of the coastline.
The sea will remain very high and all ports have been asked to put up danger signals, the Storm Warning Centre said. All fishing boats and trawlers have been advised to remain in shelter until further notice.
Low-lying areas in the country’s southern flank and offshore islands are likely to be inundated by storm surges of eight to 10 feet above normal tide, the centre said.
Evacuation of people from coastal areas of Chittagong began Wednesday night, Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Ashraf Shamim told the New Age.
Chittagong airport was declared closed and all air force planes were flown to safer destinations, government officials said.