Cyclone Roanu may hit this afternoon

Cyclone ‘Roanu’, travelling over north and west central Bay of Bengal, is heading north-eastward towards Bangladesh and likely to cross the Barisal-Chittagong coast this afternoon.
A storm, with a wind speed of 62 to 88 kilometres per hour, is likely to hit the country during the passage of the cyclone, and offshore islands and chars of coastal areas are likely to be inundated by a storm surge four to five feet in height, above the normal astronomical tide.
According to a bulletin circulated by the met office around 12am, the cyclone was centred on 9:00pm on Friday about 650 kms west-southwest of Chittagong port, 635 kms west-southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 470 kms southwest of Mongla port and 495 kms southwest of Payra port.
The Met office has asked the relevant offices to hoist local danger signal no 7 in Chittagong, Mongla and Payra maritime ports and signal no 6 in the maritime port of Cox’s Bazar.
Coastal districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola, Barguna, Patuakhali, Barisal, Pirozpur, Jhalakati, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal no 7.
Coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar and its offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal number 6.
The Met office forecast that the cyclone ‘Roanu’, named by Maldives, is likely
to intensify further and move in a north-north-easterly direction and may cross Barisal-Chittagong coast by noon or afternoon.
The authorities on Friday evening suspended all water transport through the country until further notice. All fishing boats and trawlers over north Bay and deep sea have been advised to take shelter immediately.
The district administrations of coastal areas opened cyclone shelter centres and asked the people to rush there.
The entire coastal region, including Chittagong, on Friday witnessed drizzle or light rains as the skyline remained gloomy throughout the day.
Rain or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind, are likely to occur today at most places in Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions with heavy to very heavy falls at places in Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, triggered by the cyclone.
Roanu, the first cyclone of the season in the Bay, with maximum sustained wind speed within 54 kms of the storm centre, and about 62 kph rising to 88 kph in gusts/squalls, is likely to intensify further.
Loading and unloading activities at the major ports of the country were stopped Friday noon.
The Chittagong port authorities have asked the lighter vessels to move to safer places to avoid any casualties during the cyclone. Ships staying in the outer anchorage have been asked to take necessary preparation to face the cyclone.
Md Abdullah Al Masod, upazila nirbahi officer of Muladi in Barisal, told New Age that they had taken a number of steps, including forming disaster management committees at union levels, to face the impending calamity.
‘As part of our preparation to face the cyclone, we already opened 18 centres and asked people to take shelter there,’ he added.
Asked about people’s response to the call, he said barely a few people visited the shelters till Friday night.
Disaster management and relief secretary Mohammad Shah Kamal Friday evening at a media briefing said that the district administrations on Friday launched a massive evacuation campaign to move to safety nearly 2,150,000 people in 13 most vulnerable coastal districts in short notice.
He said the evacuations were launched in four districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur and Feni while the 13 vulnerable districts could all together accommodate over 20 lakh people in government cyclone shelters alone.
‘50,000 volunteers trained under the Cyclone Preparedness Programme and all Red Crescent volunteers and members of the Bangladesh Scouts in 13 districts are prepared to join the campaign,’ he added.
The civil aviation authorities ordered urgent steps to protect Shah Amanat Airport to protect their equipment. ‘All planes were removed from the airport as it is located just beside the sea,’ a civil aviation official said.
Deputy commissioner of Laxmipur Zillur Rahman said that people were largely reluctant to move to cyclone shelters despite repeated calls by volunteers using megaphones.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority on Friday suspended the operations of vessels on all waterways throughout the country with effect from Friday afternoon, which will remain in force until further notice.

News COurtesy: www.newagebd.net