The country today launched an intensified evacuation campaign targeting half a million people to be moved to safety as the met office maximised its warning signal for Cox’s Bazar and adjoining areas as the deadly cyclone Mocha is approaching with higher intensity.
"Cyclone 'Mocha' is coming. We've kept the cyclone centres ready and taken all types of preparations to tackle it," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said while opening the Institution of Engineers convention in the city.
She said the cyclone could disrupt electricity and gas supplies and particularly cause water stagnation in coastal areas, creating temporary sufferings and urged all to prepare for the impact, reports BSS.
The Cox’s Bazar region is expected to bear the main brunt of the cyclone where officials said an extensive preparedness was underway.
“The district administration has turned social, educational and religious institutions as makeshift shelters alongside 576 designated cyclone shelters in Cox’s Bazar to accommodate over half a million people,” deputy commissioner or administrative chief of the coastal district Muhammad Shahin Imran told reporters.
He said some 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers and others joined a campaign asking people at risk to move to safety alongside the government officials while the district administration mobilized transports to carry them to the cyclone shelters.
The development came as the met office heightened the “danger signal no 8 to 10” in a scale of 10 for Cox’s Bazar and adjoining areas as the Mocha advanced visibly to make a landfall in Cox’s Bazar coast anytime from 6 am to 6 pm on Sunday.
“The cyclone is approaching at a speed of 8 to 10 kilometres speed with winds packing up to 175 kilometres while during the landfall the speed could be as high as 190 kilometres,” a met office spokesman told newsmen.
“The cyclone could cause tidal surges from 8 to 12 feet beyond the normal tide.”
He said the met office heightened the warning signal to the highest level in the scale of 10 to indicate its wrath and feared Saint Martin’s island, Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar town to bear the worst brunt of the storm and northern Myanmar coast.
Hundreds fled St. Martin’s as the most powerful cyclone in nearly two decades barreled towards Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar coasts.
BSS Cox’s Bazar correspondent reported a state of calm was being witnessed in the town since the morning amid drizzles while residents of the low-lying areas of the town and its adjacent areas started moving to cyclone shelters.
He said the Pouro Preparatory High School in the town alone sheltered over 200 people from the low-lying Samity Para area of the beach town.
“Our home is in the low-lying areas while the surges are likely to inundate the area. So, we have taken shelter with my children and wife here but still we are frightened,” one Shafiqul Alam told BSS.
Zahura Begum, another resident of the town, said her husband was sick and unable to move fast in case of emergency and “so, we took refuge here in advance”.
The deputy commissioner said the cyclonic storm might cause landslides in the hilly areas of the district and works were underway to relocate people living in risky points of foothills to safer places.
There are concerns the cyclone could impact the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, where close to a million Rohingyas live in makeshift shelters. Red warning flags have been raised there.
Officials said many of the Rohingyas living in certain risky areas were moved to safer places at community centres.
"This cyclone (Mocha) is the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr of 2007," chief meteorologist Azizur Rahman said.
The Sidr had hit Bangladesh’s southwestern coast killing more than 3,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Nearly 4 lakh evacuated to 1,030 cyclone shelters in Ctg
About four lakh people mainly women and children have been evacuated to 1,030 cyclone shelters in Chattogram district to save their lives and valuables from the impacts of cyclone 'MOCHA'.
Alongside, some 16,500 volunteers are working to tackle the situation, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abul Bashar Md Fakruzzaman, who is currently visiting the Banskhali coastal area, told BSS over his cell phone.
He said 90 per cent of people, mainly women and children, have already been evacuated to 1,030 cyclone shelters in the coastal district.
Over 2,000 primary schools/cyclone centres have already been ready to evacuate more people as Cyclone 'MOCHA' is gaining more and more strength with each passing hour likely to turn into an extremely severe cyclonic storm, the DC added.
Meanwhile, the district administration canceled leaves of all government officials and employees in Chattogram, he said, adding: "All kinds of preparations have already been taken to tackle the disaster in Chattogram mainly before and after the cyclone."
"Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) of the coastal areas of upazilas in Chattogram have sent vulnerable people to cyclone centres and managed dry food for them. Nearly four lakh people have already been evacuated to 1,030 cyclone centres in Chattogram," he added.
Terming District Administration have enough dry food for the people, DC Fakruzzaman said a total of 123 tonnes of rice and dry foods, 40 lakh bottles of water, sufficient ORS and Taka five lakh 24 thousand in cash have been sent to the UNOs to tackle the extremely severe cyclonic storm.
He further said various NGOs and volunteer organizations have been asked to get ready to tackle any situation. The coast guard has been to keep their boats prepared to continue rescue activities before and after the cyclone hit, he continued.
The Health Service Division has been asked to ensure treatment for victims of the cyclone. In addition, local Assistant Commissioners (land) have been asked to take measures required for hill people.
The meteorology department in its latest directives asked the seaport of Cox's Bazar to hoist "great danger signal no-10" and advised the other 11 coastal districts, including Chattogram, Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur and Bhola to maintain the danger signal no eight.
There is a possibility that the wind speed may exceed 90km per hour in these districts. Officials predict floods in vast areas along the coastline and storm surges up to 12 feet in Teknaf where the cyclone may make landfall around noon on Sunday.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) sources said 'Mocha' could make landfall in Teknaf and wind speed could reach 175 kmph last night.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) in Chattogram has identified vulnerabilities in a total of 50 kilometres of embankment.
Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) has opened a control room to deal with cyclone 'MOCHA'. The people of Chattogram will get all kinds of information and services related to the cyclone at the emergency service number 023-333-630-739 of this control room in Dampara of the city.
City Mayor Bir Muktijoddha Rezaul Karim Chowdhury disclosed this at the disaster management sub-committee meeting of CCC this morning.
He said: "In case of cyclone 'MOCHA', the loss of life and property of the common people should be kept to a minimum and post-disaster rescue operations should be carried out at the highest speed."
Besides, 90 shelters have already been ready in 41 wards under the CCC, he mentioned.
18,500 volunteers ready in Bhola
A total of 18,600 volunteers have been kept ready to deal with Cyclone 'Mocha' in the district. Among them are 13,600 members of the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) and 5,000 Red Crescent Society volunteers.
Besides, 746 shelter centres have been opened to protect people and animals during disasters. Ten lakh cattle and 5,63,000 people can take shelter in these centres during a disaster.
A total of 98 medical teams have been formed to ensure the health care of common people.
At the same time, eight control rooms have been opened in seven upazilas of the district along with the Deputy Commissioner's office, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said.
Deputy Director of Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) Abdur Rashid told BSS that 3 signal flags have been hoisted at 680 points in all units of the district after receiving the No. 8 emergency signal and sirens.
Publicity campaigns are being conducted to bring the people to the shelters centre and volunteers are working in the field.
District relief and rehabilitation officer SM Delwar Hossain told BSS that they already have 350 tonnes of rice, 8 lakh taka in cash and 164 bundles of corrugated iron sheets (dheutin ) in stock to deal with the cyclone.
Apart from this, an allocation of 5000 packets of dry food, 500 bundles of dheutin and 15 lakh cash taka has been requested for house construction. Six Mujib Killas are prepared for the protection of livestock in the shelter as well as in different pastures, he said.
District Fisheries Officer Molla Mdadullah said the fishermen who were fishing in the sea returned safely to the coast with trawlers. Miking is done by the Fisheries Department to ensure a safe location and that all seagoing vessels arrive at the ghat safely.
District Civil Surgeon Dr KM Shafikuzzaman said the civil surgeon office of the district has formed 98 medical teams to ensure the health care of common people in the district when cyclone 'Mocha' hits.
He also said that to deal with Mocha, 218 community clinics including Bhola 250-bed General Hospital, 20 union health centres, six upazila health complexes, Khair Hat 30-bed and Dakshin Aicha 20-bed Hospitals have been instructed to provide round-the-clock medical services.
A total of 180 vials of antivenom have been kept in stock by the health department for the patients who were bitten by snakes in the disaster.
District Animal Resources Officer Dr Indrajit Kumar Mondal said that 21 medical veterinary teams and 5 mobile veterinary clinics have been formed to protect the district livestock during the cyclone Mocha.
Executive Engineer of the Water Development Board of Bhola Md Hasanuzzaman said that the Water Development Board of Bhola has 334 km of flood control dams. Vulnerable areas have already been repaired. Still, the dams that appear to be at risk are under construction.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Taufiq-e-Lahi Chowdhury said that all types of emergency services in the district are ready 24 hours a day to deal with cyclone Mocha. Every UNO has instructions on what to do in this regard.
He said that the administration is trying its best to minimize the damage to be caused by the cyclone Mocha.
