The government is taking necessary preparations as cyclone ‘Ashani’ is likely to hit Bangladesh coast, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman on Thursday.
Cyclone ‘Ashani’ may hit Satkhira district after hitting northeast India’s Odisha and West Bengal, the state minister told reporters after a meeting on cyclone preparedness at the Secretariat.
He said that a cyclonic system has been developed near the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean which may turns into low pressure by Monday.
Then on May 11, it is likely to intensify into a deep depression and cyclone, he added.
“If it turns into a cyclone then the cyclone will be named Ashani,” he said.
However, its landfall has not been calculated yet. “After the formation of depression and cyclone, we can tell when it will hit the coast of Bangladesh,” he said.
The state minister said the country has bitter experiences and millions of people lost their lives in cyclones since Bangladesh is a cyclone- prone country.
“We are all alert now. We will take action according to the cyclone situation later,” he added.
Asked about necessary measures taken for the possible cyclone, he said cyclone shelters will be set up in case of deep depression. “We have about 7,000 cyclone shelters, if necessary we will use schools, colleges and other buildings.”
“We set up more than 14,000 cyclone shelters during cyclone ‘Amphan’. We were able to shelter more than 24 lakh people there. We have that capacity and we are ready,” said the state minister.
