300,000 Evacuated from Bangladesh as Cyclone Mora Wreaks Havoc

As powerful Cyclone Mora slams Bangladesh’s southern coastline, citizens of the country are directed to move and evacuate the premises of the lowly-elevated areas—so far, nearly one million people are directed to evacuate. Since the cyclone hit land early Tuesday morning (between the cities of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar), six people have died so far.

Mora is reported to have been heading up north, according to authorities in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital. Khalid Mahmood, a director at the Disaster Management Department, says that those who were killed were struck by fallen trees—yet, further deaths are not to be expected because the worst of the storm has passed.

For the time being, citizens of Bangladesh sought out refuge in schools and other types of buildings, all along seventeen coastal districts. Now, “officials have organized 38,000 relief centers ahead of the storm and airports and ports were shut in the worst affected areas.”

All medical and military personnel have been called to stand ready for the disaster. For example, “doctors and nurses have had their leave requests canceled in anticipation of the storm’s landfall, according to Bangladeshi state media… rescue teams comprised of members of the armed forces and other agencies were also on standby.”

Having about 700 kilometers exposed to the ocean, Bangladesh stands vulnerable to the worst of cyclones that batter its shoreline and coastal towns.  CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri says, “A combination of its lengthy and exposed coastline, inadequate infrastructure and plenty of fuel in the way of warm Bay of Bengal waters play a role in making this region the deadliest in the world as it relates to tropical cyclones.”

With 100 kilometer-per-hour winds, Mora’s move on shore has brought about a high potential for flooding, due to storm surges and heavy rainfall. Such winds have brought about the deaths of at least two dozen people during Cyclone Roanu’s destruction in May of 2016.

Meteorologist Taylor Ward says, “The coastline of Bangladesh is very low-lying and is prone to storm surge problems.  Additionally, tropical cyclones in the region bring extremely heavy rainfall which often turns deadly in the densely populated areas.”

With many sea ports and airports closed due to violent weather conditions, officials wait for the storm to pass so that national affairs may resume.  CAAB flight safety director Ziaul Kabir voices, “We will reopen the airport if weather permits after 2 p.m. tomorrow… the suspension period will linger if the brunt of the cyclone badly affects our airport infrastructure.”

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