Cyclone Mocha crossing Bangladesh, Myanmar coastlines

DHAKA: Extremely dangerous Cyclone Mocha began crossing the Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts Sunday, a senior official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) told Xinhua.
 
Mocha has a diameter of more than 500 kilometres, and its impact will be felt in many areas of Bangladesh, said BMD director Md Azizur Rahman.
 
According to a special bulletin from the BMD, the cyclone, packing winds of up to 215 miles per hour, brought destructive winds and a potentially devastating storm surge.
 
The severe cyclone will take several hours to weaken into a cyclone and then into a depression.
 
Parts of Bangladesh are experiencing drizzle and gusty wind as an impact of the advancing cyclone.
 
TV footage showed widespread flooding in coastal Cox’s Bazar this morning, where hundreds of thousands have reportedly been evacuated.
 
Bangladeshi State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman told journalists that they have taken adequate measures to support the affected people.
 
Officials said there have been no reports of casualties so far from the cyclone in the affected areas. – BERNAMA-XINHUA