Nine of them are currently receiving treatment at hospitals, the report said.Bangladesh's Meteorological Department in a special bulletin on Sunday said the cyclone "weakened" and "started crossing" India's West Bengal and Bangladesh's southwestern Khulna coast.The met office on Saturday issued its highest "great signal numbers" 10 and 9 for the southwestern and southeastern coastlines, prompting authorities to launch a massive evacuation campaign. The met office on Sunday lowered the number to 3.Disaster ministry secretary Shah Kamal said they initially planned to evacuate 14 lakh people to 5,000 cyclone shelters, however by Saturday midnight, the figure rose to over 21 lakh.The cyclone, packing gusts of up to 130 kph, coincided with the moon phase or full moon, which inflates sea waters, raising fears of a catastrophe.However, meteorologists said the damage was less than expected as its landfall came during the low tide early in the morning, instead of midnight when the Bangladesh coasts witness high tide. "Much of its intensity was lost largely by the time it reached Bangladesh after ravaging West Bengal coastlines," a met office spokesman said.Bulbul slammed ashore near Sagar Island in West Bengal and approached world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border.The government suspended weekend leave for government officials in 13 coastal districts on Saturday. The army troops were also called in to supplement the cyclone preparedness.Authorities also suspended all activities in the country's seaports, including in Chattogram Port, which handles almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh's exports and imports.According to US-based AccuWeather Inc, Bulbul strengthened from a deep depression into a tropical cyclone on Thursday morning, and by Friday afternoon had strengthened into a severe cyclone.Bulbul was the equivalent of a Category 1 or 2 hurricane in the Atlantic, it said.Bangladesh's coastal areas are often hit by deadly cyclones, but the country has upgraded its capacity to deal with natural disasters, successfully reducing the number of casualties in recent years. AR SCY MRJ MRJ

Source: bd News24 November 10, 2019 14:16 UTC