Hurricane 'SIDR' likely to hit today

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The Met Office Wednesday evening sounded great danger signal-10 for Mongla Port, and great danger signal-9 for Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, as the hurricane 'SIDR' in the Bay of Bengal was expected to make landfall Thursday, report bdnews24.com and UNB.
All fishing-boats and trawlers were advised earlier to remain in shelter until further notice. Hundreds of ships and fishing boats had headed back to the ports following the alarm.
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) also suspended its operations. "We have suspended loading and unloading of cargo on the mother vessels at the outer anchorage, as the sea has turned turbulent," a port official said.
Residents of the coastal districts had packed their food and other essentials as a preparation of possible evacuation. High waves had begun slamming the shore.
Bangladesh's main tourist resort, Cox's Bazar, wore a deserted look Wednesday, and hotels were largely empty there, officials and witnesses said. The weather warning also left at least 100 tourists trapped on the St Martin's Island, as ships and country boats were ordered off the sea.
Earlier, in the country, a November storm killed more than 5,00,000 people in 1970, while an April storm killed 1,43,000 people in 1991.
Indian officials said, Kolkata should expect to be hit by "squally winds and heavy rainfall." The neighbouring state of Orissa would also be affected, they added.
Meanwhile, the government had directed all the volunteers in 11 coastal districts to remain alert in view of the hurricane. As many as 42,675 volunteers of coastguards, police and army were on standby for deployment to undertake emergency rescue and relief operation once the storm made landfall in the coastal areas, an official said.
A control room has also been opened at the Food and Disaster Management Ministry for round-the-clock collection of information about the hurricane and maintaining communications on the matter. The telephone numbers of the control room are 7160454, 7162116 and 7164115.