Cyclone Mora hits Bangladesh, several Indian states prepare for extreme weather

Cyclone Mora hit the shores of Bangladesh on Tuesday morning, packing winds of up to 117 kilometres per hour after authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from low-lying coastal villages in the country, AFP reported. The storm made landfall on the coast between Cox’s Bazar and the main port city of Chittagong at 6 am, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a special weather bulletin, the report said. On Monday, a massive evacuation campaign was launched in Bangladesh along its southern coastline, as the Met department had issued the highest level of warning signal in a scale of 10 for two maritime ports in the country, NDTV reported. [caption id=“attachment_3495955” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Getty Images[/caption] Meanwhile, several eastern and northeastern Indian states have put out warnings and begun evacuation activities to prepare for the severe cyclone. A warning was issued in Mizoram on Monday that cyclone Mora accompanied by a thunderstorm and very heavy rainfall is likely to lash the state on May 30 and 31, another NDTV report said_._ The report added that the Mizoram Disaster Management Authority and the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department received a warning that the cyclone was most likely to lash Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura on Tuesday and Wednesday, an official statement said. Meghalaya government also issued warning of strong winds and heavy rainfall on Monday in view of Mora, saying that the cyclonic storm is likely to make a landfall in the north east region in the next 48 hours, PTI reported. The statement from the Indian Meteorological Department advised people to take precautions as the cyclone could trigger massive landslides and flash floods in the state. After having made landfall in Odisha on Monday, Cyclone Mora is likely to intensify in the region. According to local media houses, Odisha government on Monday has put four districts — Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Jajpur and Bhadrak — on alert. With inputs from PTI