Cyclone Mora is likely to hit the eastern coast early on Tuesday, the meteorological department said.
Port
cities in the south-east have been asked to display the highest warning
system known as "great danger level 10". Ports further west are on
level 8.
The cyclone formed after heavy rains in Sri Lanka caused floods and landslides that killed at least 180 people.
The
worst flooding in 14 years on the island has affected the lives of more
than half a million people. More than 100 people remain missing.
In Bangladesh, people in Chittagong district have been flocking to
nearly 500 cyclone shelters as warnings were announced on loudspeakers.
Schools and government offices are being used to shelter people, and residents of hilly areas are also being urged to evacuate.
Bangladesh profile
Flood-hit Sri Lankans fear more rain
Low-lying
areas of Cox's Bazar, Chittagong and many other coastal districts are
"likely to be inundated" by a storm surge of 1.2m-1.5m (4-5 feet) above
normal levels, the meteorological department warned.
"We are
targeting zero casualties and we will try our best to evacuate more than
a million before the landfall," disaster management authority spokesman
Abul Hashim told the AFP news agency.
He said nearly 300,000 people had already been moved to cyclone shelters.
Though
Bangladesh is used to cyclones, many people don't live in dwellings
sturdy enough to withstand bad weather, the BBC's South Asia editor
Charles Haviland says.
Their lives, and the crops on which so many of them depend, he says, are constantly at risk when cyclones hit.
Fishing boat and trawlers have been advised to remain in port, and coastal ferries have suspended operations
Bangladesh
is yet to fully recover from flash floods in the north-east of the
country in April that destroyed rice crops and pushed rice prices to
record highs.
Heavy rains are also expected in parts of north-eastern India due to Cyclone Mora.
[BBC Sources]
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