1,100 cyclone-shelters ready in Cox’s Bazar

Some 1,100 cyclone-shelter centres have been kept ready in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar as the cyclonic storm “Mahasen” continues to move towards the country’s coastal belt.

This was revealed at a meeting of the District Disaster Management Committee held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Monday afternoon.

Leave of government employees in the district has also been cancelled so that the officials could take part in emergency rescue mission in the event of cyclone causing any havoc.

District Primary Education Officer Liton Barua told the meeting that the district’s 537 cyclone-shelter centres and 534 more new cyclone shelters- cum-schools were kept ready. The centres will be opened immediately in case of any emergency.

Red Crescent Society official Sirajul Mostafa said that a three-phase preparation – before, during and after the disaster – was taken to tackle the potential disaster that is likely to lash the coastal areas on Tuesday.

The volunteers were ready to provide help, he said.

Deputy Commissioner Md. Ruhul Amin after Sunday’s meeting said as many as 113 emergency medical teams were kept ready while a district control room was opened.

The people of the district’s coastal areas were alerted about the disaster through loudspeakers to ensure that they can make the necessary preparations to shift to safe shelters before the cyclone hits.

The Monday’s meeting also took stock of the availability of food and other essential items in the district. There are adequate stock, the meeting observed.