Cyclone Mahasen hits Bangladesh

Thousands have moved to shelters in Bangladesh

Cyclone Mahasen has begun crossing Bangladesh's southern coast, as people packed into evacuation shelters.

The storm hit Patuakhali district on Thursday with winds of up to 100 kph (60 mph), and was heading for the ports of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.

One person has been reported dead, Bangladeshi officials say.
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate low-lying areas in Bangladesh and Burma, and take shelter in cyclone centres.

However, some displaced people in Burma have resisted calls for them to evacuate camps in Rakhine state.

The United Nations has warned that 8.2m people could be at risk from Mahasen in Bangladesh, Burma and north-east India.

Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi authorities have raised the danger level to seven out of 10 for low-lying areas around Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.

However, Shamsuddun Ahmed, deputy director of Bangladesh's Meteorological Department, told AFP news agency the cyclone was not expected to cause serious damage as it was "not severe".

The cyclone "did not gain strength in the last part of its journey as it hit the coast", he said.

All schools, colleges and some hotels have been declared cyclone shelters. These centres are crowded and people are still rushing in, our correspondent adds.

Airports in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong have been shut until the danger subsides.

Burma
In Burma, meanwhile, tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in camps in low-lying areas of Rakhine state are feared to be at risk.

They were displaced by ethnic violence last year and many are reluctant to move from the camps.

Cyclone Mahasen has already taken a toll. Though the storm did not make landfall in Sri Lanka, the associated heavy rain caused floods and mudslides which killed at least seven people, according to the country's Disaster Management Centre.
Source: BBC

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Posted by Unknown 5/16/2013