Bangladesh today launched a massive evacuation drive as the Met Office issued 'Danger Signal No 7' in a scale of 10 for northeastern coastlines, saying that the cyclonic storm 'Mahasen' approached further towards the coast.
"The evacuation campaign has begun across the coastal region... The people are moving towards safety," director general of disaster management department Abdul Wajed told PTI.
Reports from the coastlines said the government and Red Crescent volunteers were using megaphones asking people to move out of their homes with their valuables and keeping behind their other necessary belongings digging out the earth at their homesteads.
But officials and volunteers said people at many areas declined to quit their homes since they could not bring with them their cattle or other valuable or expecting the cyclone eventually might not hit the coast.
"Many are declining to leave their homes, but we will eventually force them to move towards safety... The local union parishad chairmen were entrusted wit the task to remove the people," chief administrative chief of northeastern Bashkhali sub-district Sabbir Iqbal told BSS news agency.
He said Bashkhali was one of the most vulnerable areas.
Officials and residents said community radio services were activated many areas so they could work as the communication channels with rescuers which developed in a large scale after the deadly 'Sidr' hit the southwestern coastline in 2007, killing 3,363 and the subsequent 'Aila' cyclone in 2009, claiming 190 lives.
The development came as the Met Office in its 27th bulletin issued in this evening said the 'Mahasen' with an estimated central pressure of 990 HPA moved further towards the coast while residents at coastlines said they witnessed drizzles and cloudy weather indicating the advancement of the storm.
It said the maximum sustained wind speed within 54 km of the storm centre is advanced towards by more than 100 kilometers in last two hours.
According to the latest bulletin the cyclone with about 62 kph rising to 88 kph in gusts/squalls while it was located at about 700 kms southwest of Chittagong Port, 640 kms southwest of Cox's Bazar Port and 575 kms south southwest of Mongla Port in the afternoon while the sea appeared "very rough" near the storm centre.
"We, however, do not expect the storm to hit the coast ahead of tomorrow morning... But the peripheral wind of the cyclone could be felt in the coastal areas from 10 pm today," Met Office Director Shah Alam said earlier.
Fellow meteorologists later said they could precisely predict exactly where the storm would hit with core intensity once the cyclone reached within 400 kilomtres of the coastline.
