Cyclone Jawad: Teknaf-Saint Martin waterways closed
The administration has announced a two-day shutdown of tourist ships on the Teknaf-Saint Martin waterways due to rough seas affected by cyclone Jawad in the Bay of Bengal.
Confirming the news on Saturday afternoon, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Parvez Chowdhury said that the waterway will be closed from Sunday morning to Monday as a cyclone Jawad intensifies.
"However, if the weather becomes normal, shipping can be resumed on Tuesday. Tourist ships travelling to the island have returned from Saint Martin to Teknaf," he added.
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According to vessels authorities', some 300 tourists at Saint Martin have chosen to stay back.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Friday asked the maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra to hoist distant warning signal number-2.
The depression over the Southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into a Cyclonic Storm, 'Jawad' around midnight on Friday. Later it moved North-westwards and located over the same area (near Lat: 16.1°N & Long: 84.8°E) at 6 am today, the BMD said in a bulletin.
According to the Met Office weather forecast, the cyclonic storm is likely to move towards the northerly direction further.
"Jawad" is likely to cross the coasts of north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha on Saturday.
The cyclone lay centred at 5:30 pm on Friday over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 300 km south-SE of Visakhapatnam, 420 km nearly south of Gopalpur, 480 km south-SW of Puri & 560 km south-southwest of Paradip, Hindustan Times reported
At the time, it was 1,085 km southwest of Chittagong seaport, 1,040 km southwest of Cox's Bazar seaport, 960 km south and southwest of Mongla seaport, and 965 km south and southwest of Payra seaport.
The effects of the cyclonic storm have already begun to appear in the Sundarbans. It has been raining in the area since Saturday morning.
The water level in the Indian part of the Sundarbans has started to rise due to the full moon.
The sea is very rough near the cyclone centre, the met office reported.
