NEW DELHI: The IMD in a fresh notice on Tuesday said- The remnant of the cyclonic storm “Sitrang” which created a deep depression over Bangladesh has further weakened into a depression over northeast Bangladesh, north-northeast of Agartala and south-southwest of Shillong. The storm is likely to bring moderate to heavy rain over most parts of the country, including the coast, till Tuesday afternoon. 15 coastal districts of the country, including Chittagong, Payra and Mongla seaports and Cox’s Bazar coast have been asked to show danger signal number 7 to warn others that the cyclone is likely to cross the port.
Continous torrential rains in Assam reported severe waterlogging in several parts of Guwahati. Tourists in West Bengal were warned against venturing into the Bakkhali beach in South 24 Parganas. In its notice the IMD issued a red alert indicating heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura. Disaster Management Authorities in Meghalaya have been kept on high alert as Cyclone Sitrang is likely to bring heavy rain in many parts of the state.
Meanwhile, in Bangladesh the cyclone made landfall killing at least 11 people, destroying houses, uprooting trees and disrupting road, power and communication links. The cyclone barrelled in from the Bay of Bengal early in the day with winds gusting up to 88 kph (55 mph) and a storm surge of about 3 m (10 ft) that flooded low-lying coastal areas. Power and telephone links have been largely ceased and coastal areas witness outages.