The frontal part of the cyclonic storm Hamoon started crossing Bangladesh coast at about 6:00pm on Tuesday, confirmed Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
‘The frontal part might take three hours to come onto land while the centre of the storm might start crossing around midnight,’ said meteorologist Bazlur Rashid.
This is the second cyclone formed in the Bay of Bengal that hit Bangladesh this year after Mocha in May.
Government officers on the ground in Barishal division reported rain and swellings in the sea and rivers around 5:00pm.
As the cyclone began making landfall, thousands of volunteers of the Cyclone Preparedness Programme raced against time to evacuate as many people as possible from vulnerable areas in 10 coastal districts.
Thousands were already in shelter centres in the Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Chattogram, Feni, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur districts.
At 4:30pm on Tuesday, the BMD said that the very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas with a sustained wind speed of 90 km per hour within 64 km of the storm.
The storm will cross mainly over the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar coast by tonight, said the BMD.
The BMD asked the maritime ports of Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar to hoist signal number seven and Payra and Mongla signal number five.
