Cyclone Remal heads for Bangladesh’s coast

Cyclone Remal, packing 120 kph winds, is headed for Bangladesh and is within 200 km off the coast.

The rough seas near the storm’s centre have prompted the Bangladesh Meteorological Department to advise Mongla and Payra ports to raise Great Danger Signal No. 10 and the Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar ports to raise Great Danger Signal No. 9.

At noon, the centre of the storm was 335 km southwest of the Chattogram maritime port, 315 km southwest of the Cox’s Bazar port, 220 km south of the Mongla port and 200 km south of the Payra port.

Wind speeds within 64 km of the storm’s centre have reached 90 kph, rising to 120 kph in gusts or gales, reports bdnews24.com.

Coastal areas are experiencing rain and gusty winds under the storm’s influence, meteorologist Md Omar Faruk said.

If the northward course of the storm holds true, Remal is expected to make landfall between Bangladesh’s Khepupara and India’s Sagar Island between evening and midnight on Sunday.

A bulletin from the Indian Met Office states that wind speeds could rise to 110-120 kph at the time the storm makes landfall, rising to 135 kph in gusts or gales.

A regular cyclone has wind speeds between 62-88 kph. When the speed rises to the 89-118 kph range it is considered a severe cyclone. When the speed hits 119-219 kph it is a very severe cyclone. Finally, when it rises to 220 kph, it is considered a super cyclone.

The last cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal was Cyclone Michaung on Dec 3, 2023. It later crossed the coast of Andhra Pradesh in India and did not have much effect on Bangladesh.

On Nov 17, Cyclone Midhili formed in the Bay of Bengal and hit the Bangladesh coast near Khepupara. Wind speeds had risen to 88 kph. Nine people were killed in the storm, and crops and trees were damaged.