Bangladesh evacuates over 1 million people

Dhaka: Bangladesh has evacuated over a million people from their coastal villages on Sunday for concrete storm shelters as the low-lying nation prepared for crashing waves when a cyclone makes landfall, top government disaster officials said. Cyclone Remal is set to hit the southern coast and parts of neighbouring India late on Sunday, with Bangladesh's weather department predicting howling gales and gusts of up to 130 km per hour. The state-run Bangladesh Meteorological Department said Cyclone Remal would make landfall on Sunday by midnight local time (4am AEST).

Bangladesh has deployed tens of thousands of volunteers to the region to evacuate the people to the cyclone shelters. The great danger Signal No 10 has been sounded for the country's coastal districts and seaports, where fishing boats, trawlers and maritime vessels have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice. At 9 am on Sunday, the cyclone was centred 295 km south of Bangladesh's Mongla port in the southern Khulna region and 380 km southwest of Chattogram port in southeastern Bangladesh.