Hurricane SIDR creeps closer

The Met office Thursday morning reissued great danger signal No. 10 for Mongla port and great danger signal 9 for Chittagong and Cox's Bazar as a severe storm in the Bay of Bengal is estimated to make landfall in the evening. The weather warning left at least 100 tourists trapped on the St Martin's Island as ships and country boats were ordered off the sea. The storm is likely to intensify further and move in a northerly direction and may cross Khulna-Barisal coast by evening, the weather office said in its 9:30am advisory. The maximum sustained wind speed within 74km of the storm centre is about 200kph rising to 220kph in gusts or squalls. "The sea will remain very high," the weathercast said. The Met office said the storm was 556 km off Chittagong, 490 km off Cox's Bazar and 485 km off Mongla. The food and disaster management ministry opened a control room to provide round-the-clock information about the hurricane and maintain communications. Call the control room on 7160454, 7162116 and 7164115.