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Authorities in Bangladesh were evacuating hundreds of thousands of people across its vast coastal region on Monday as a tropical storm loomed over fears of widespread damage.
The government halted all riverboat operations across the country, closed three airports and ordered fishing boats to return from the deep sea and remain anchored in the Bay of Bengal.
The Meteorological Office in the capital Dhaka said the storm had gusts of up to 88 kilometers per hour and could intensify. It is expected to hit the country early on Tuesday and spread across its southern and southwestern regions, endangering the entire coast.
The whole of Bangladesh has been experiencing moderate to heavy rains since early Monday, disrupting life across the country.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, a partner of the ICRC, said about 1,200 volunteers had been deployed to help the local government with emergency services.
Bangladesh’s Union News Agency said about 7,000 cyclone shelters had been prepared to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people and their livestock. It said authorities had stockpiled dry food and medicines.
It said many of the levees in southern and southwestern Bangladesh were at risk of being damaged by storm surges, endangering villages and farmland.
Bangladesh, a delta country of over 160 million people, is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.
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