Bangladesh met office raises warning signal 7 for its main Chittagong sea port

Sat, 2009-04-18 00:42 M.A. Kader-Asian Tribune Correspondent in Bangladesh

Dhaka, 18 April (Asiantribune.com): Bangladesh authorities on Friday raised cautionary signal 7 for its main port Chittagong as the season's first cyclonic storm, "Bijli", gained strength and was closing in on southwestern shorelines, packing winds up to 90 kilometer per hour (kph).

Of them, Cox's Bazaar and Mongla ports were asked to keep hoisted danger signal 6 and 5, respectively. All fishing boats have been asked to rush back to shore marking the warning.

Storms are graded with signals ranging from 1 to 10, and authorities start major preparations when the signal is raised to five or beyond.

The cyclonic storm over North Bay moved slightly northeastwards and now lies over the same area. It was centred at 3pm about 345 kilometers (kms) southwest of Chittagong port, 315 kms southwest of Cox's Bazar port and 200 kms south-southwest of Mongla port.

The Met office officials in a special weather bulletin said it was likely to intensify further and move in a northeasterly direction and may cross Barisal-Chittagong coast near Meghna estuary by mid night to night.

Meteriologist Sujit Kumar Dev Sharma told a local news agency, the "moderate-intensity" storm was moving toward the coast at 15-20 km per hour.

Coastal districts have been experiencing medium to heavy rain since Thursday night, local officials said.

Maximum sustained wind speed within 54 kms of the cyclone centre is about 70 kph, rising to 90 kph in gusts and squalls.

Sea will remain very rough, the bulletin said.

The coastal districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur, Bhola, Barisal and Chandpur and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal seven.

The coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal six.

The coastal districts of Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirozepur, Jhalokathi, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal five.

Under the influence of the storm, the coastal districts of Cox's Bazaar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur, Bhola, Barisal, Patuakhali, Barguna, Chandpur, Pirozepur, Jhalokathi, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, and their offshore islands and chars are likely to experience heavy rain accompanied by squally wind speed up to 120kph.

The low-lying areas of these coastal districts and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by a storm surge 7-10 feet above the height of normal tide.

All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay must remain in shelter until further notice, the bulletin added.

Cyclone ‘SIDR’ battered part of the shore in November 2007, killing around 3,000 people and damaged huge crops and property. A devastating cyclone in April 1991 claimed lives of nearly 140,000 people.

Environmentalists said the frequency and intensity of deadly cyclone ‘SIDR’ was very high compared to the past cyclone attacked in 1991 in Bangladesh. It is because of the impact of global climate change for which low-lying countries like Bangladesh would be the worst victim.

The environmentalist also predicted that by 2050 one fourth of the total land area of Bangladesh will be disappeared under water due to the consequence of global warming.