At least three people were killed as winds swept the coast of Bangladesh ahead of a tropical cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, dpa quoted officials as saying Saturday. Cyclone Roanu was 140 kilometres south-west of Chittagong at 9 am (0300 GMT) and heading for the coast, meteorologist Ayesha Khatun said. "The cyclone is expected to make landfall in the late afternoon as it was moving towards the land at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour," she added. Two people were killed by falling trees late Friday in Bhola district, 160 kilometres south of Dhaka, local government official Jalal Uddin said. The other died in neighbouring Patuakhali district when a house collapsed Saturday, police officer Azharul Islam told dpa. The storm was recording winds of 62 to 88 kilometres per hour over a 54-square-kilometre centre. The government evacuated more than 500,000 residents from coastal districts, Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury said. "We have taken every possible precaution." Nearly 2.1 million people living in 18 coastal districts have been told to be prepared to move if necessary to more than 3,500 cyclone shelters, Disaster Management Secretary Shah Kamal said.
