Authorities have prepared more than 1,000 cycone shelters to evacuate people while all fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay and deep sea have been asked to remain anchored until further notice as Cyclone Sitrang is expected to cross southern Bangladeshi coast by early Tuesday. The Bay of Bengal will remain very rough near the eye of the cyclone, the weather office said on Monday morning. According to the latest bulletin of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Sitrang may make landfall near Khepupara along Barishal-Chittagong coast, and because of the impact of the cyclone heavy rains would continue to lash the country. Read: ‘Sitrang’ may hit a 730 km area in Bangladesh on Oct 25: State Minister Authorities in Chattogram and other hilly districts warned that landslides could destroy homes and kill people if incessant rains continue. UNB correspondents from across southern coastal region reported heavy rains since morning.

Hundreds of farmers in Sunamganj’s haor areas started harvesting paddy after getting an early flood warning from the district administration and local weather office.   Warned by local weather office about untimely heavy rain, the district administration recently announced over loudspeaker that untimely flood may damage the crops in the haor area.   But labour shortage amid the ongoing holidays to contain transmission of coronavirus, has become a major headache for the farmers desperate to save their crops.   Visiting several haors in the district on Sunday, the UNB correspondent saw farmers and their children busy harvesting. In many cases, voluntary organisations and students were helping the farmers.   Sources at Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said they expect a production of 12 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy from 219,300 hectares in the district.   Meanwhile, Abu Syed Chowdhury, meteorologist, Sylhet Weather Office, said about 200mm rain may occur in between April 17 and 21 according to the meteorological calculation. That may be the reason of an unwanted flood in the haor region, he added.   Warned by the meteorologist, the district administration has been encouraging local farmers to harvest paddy as soon as possible to save it from flood.