Dhaka, May 1 – The maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to hoist local warning signal No 4 as the very severe cyclonic storm “Fani” over the West Central Bay and adjoining area moved northwestwards further over the same area.
Indian news agency IANS reported: With the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani inching closer towards the Odisha coast, the state government has intensified its precautionary measures to deal with any situation.
It was centring at 6 pm on Wednesday about 1205 km southwest of Chattogram port, 1160km southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 1060 km southwest of Mongla port and1070 km southwest of Payra port.
The cyclone is likely to intensify further and move in a north/northwesterly direction, said a Met office special bulletin.
Maximum sustained wind speed within 74 km of the storm centre is about 160 kph rising to 180 kph in gusts/squalls. Sea will remain very high near the cyclone centre.
All fishing boats and trawlers over the North Bay and deep sea have been advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution so that they can take shelter within a short notice. They have also been advised not to venture into the deep sea.
An emergency meeting on preparedness to face cyclone Fani was held at the secretariat on Wednesday.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman said from the current direction of the cyclone it is being assumed that it will hit India’s Odisha state, then the West Bengal and then Bangladesh’s Khulna and Satkhira region.
“But if the cyclone changes its course and moves towards Bangladesh then it will hit Khulna, Mongla, Satkhira, Chattoram and Cox’s Bazar,” he said.
He said the ministry has opened control rooms in 19 coastal districts and 56000 volunteers have been kept prepared.
As part of the preparations, 200 mt rice, 41000 packets dry food and cash Tk 5 lakh have been sent to the deputy commissioners of each 19 districts, he said. – UNB
In India, Magistrates in the all coastal and adjoining districts of Gajapati, Nayagarh, Khordha, Cuttack, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj of Odisha have been advised to identify all vulnerable people living in kutcha houses or living near the coast or in low lying areas, said Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi.
They have been instructed to start the evacuation of all those living in such areas near the coast from Wednesday and complete the process by Thursday afternoon.
The vulnerable people will be shifted to multipurpose cyclone/flood shelters and other safe shelters.
Arrangements have already been made for
As many as 879 Multi-purpose cyclone/ flood shelters are kept in readiness for sheltering people to be evacuated.
All 28 teams of NDRF, 20 ODRAF units, and other Fire Services units are being dispatched to areas on a priority basis.
While the government has directed to close all educational institutions from Thursday till further order, it has cancelled leaves of various departments.
The government has cancelled leaves and holidays for all the officials in the Energy Department as part of preparedness in view of the possible damage in power supply and distribution during the cyclone.
All kinds of leaves of doctors and health staffs have been cancelled up to May 15. The Health Department has asked that all those who are on leave must report back to respective headquarters by Wednesday evening.
The SRC also advised the tourists to leave Puri by the evening of May 2 and non-essential travel must be cancelled during Friday, Saturday to the likely affected districts.
District Emergency Operation Centres and control rooms of other offices have been activated and functioning round the clock.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm ‘FANI’ in the Bay of Bengal lay centred at 0530 hrs IST on May 1, about 680 km south-southwest of Puri and 430 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam.
It is very likely to intensify further and cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri around May 3 afternoon with maximum sustained wind speed 175-185 kmph gusting to 205 kmph.
