By DPA
Dhaka : A powerful tropical cyclone struck the southern Bangladesh coast Thursday, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes after the stormy winds caused giant waves and floods on the off-shore islands, officials said.
One million people living in fragile coastal villages were evacuated to safety as weather forecasters warned of storms packing hurricane strength.
“We have evacuated a million people to cyclone shelters since late Wednesday when the storm seemed headed for Bangladesh,” Muhammad Imam Mia, director of the disaster management office, said.
Mia said his office intended to evacuate all families on the vulnerable coastline by early Friday.
Interior Ministry officials said over 50,000 Red Cross volunteers and members of civil defence groups were put on alert ahead of the cyclone striking the shores.
A red alert was also sounded as the country’s interim government closed the domestic airports, seaports and ferry stations in southern Bangladesh.
Interior Ministry official Abdul Karim said more than a hundred tourists were trapped in the coral island of St Martins, some 30 km from the coast.
At a meeting for coordinating rescue operations, Karim disclosed the use of helicopters in the search for survivors in the turbulent waters of the Bay of Bengal, where rescuers had evacuated people from the islands to cyclone shelters to protect them against tidal flooding.
Aid workers using megaphones forewarned people in fishing hamlets about the upcoming disaster.
About 20 million people in 15 coastal districts have been threatened by the disaster.
More than a 100,000 people were killed in the worst cyclone hitting the Bangladesh coast, in 1991.