7,030 shelter centres prepared, Armed forces to evacuate people from remote areas

 

Live Correspondent: The Army, the Navy, and the Coast Guard members will evacuate people from remote areas as cyclone Strang is heading towards Bangladesh. State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman said this during a press briefing at the ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Monday.

“We’ve requested the representatives of the armed forces and the Coast Guard to assist us in relocating people from danger zones to the safe cyclone shelters and they’ve agreed. The volunteers of the Fire Service and the Red Crescent are also working alongside volunteers of the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) to ensure the safety of the affected people,” said the state minister.

Replying to a question, he said that Strang is a severe cyclonic storm and it is unlikely to turn into a very severe or super cyclone like Sidr in 2007.

“We’ve prepared a total of 7,030 cyclone shelters in 15 coastal districts where around 25 lakh people can be accommodated. In each of these districts, we’ve allocated Tk 5 lakh and supplied daily essentials like rice and lentil so that people can eat cooked food. Besides, dry foods like biscuits have also been made available so that people may not suffer from hunger,” Enamur said.

Asked when Strang will hit Bangladesh, the state minister said that the impact will be between 6:00 am to 7:00 am on Tuesday morning.

“The Met Office has hoisted danger signal 7 in various coastal districts including Bagerhat, which may go up to signal 10. We’ll ensure the safety of people and their cattle, but we can’t assure that the agricultural and fisheries resources will remain unaffected,” Enamur added.

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