DHAKA, April 17 (Reuters) - Disaster-prone Bangladesh braced on Friday for a cyclone gaining strength in the Bay of Bengal, raising the storm warning to signal number six and ordering fishing boats back to shore. The storm "Bijli", packing winds up to 90 kph (55 mph), was around 480 kms (300 miles) from Cox's Bazar on Friday morning, meteorology officials said. It was about 520 kms (325 miles) from the main port Chittagong and around 360 kms (225 miles) from Mongla, they said. "Bijli is gaining strength as it continues to move towards the shorelines and may hit the coast by Friday night or Saturday morning," a meteorology official in Cox's Bazar, around 350 km (220 miles) from the capital, Dhaka, told Reuters. Coastal districts have been experiencing medium to heavy rain since Thursday night, local officials said. Bangladesh grades storms with signals ranging from 1 to 10, and authorities start major preparations when the signal is raised to five or beyond. Red Crescent volunteers, police and other security forces are also on alert to deal with any emergency, including a possible tidal surge, one official said. Storms and cyclones batter Bangladesh almost every year, killing many people and causing huge damage to crops and property. A devastating cyclone in April 1991 killed around 140,000 people, while Cyclone Sidr swept part of the coast in November 2007 killing around 3,000. (Reporting by Anis Ahmed; Editing by David Fox)
A boy with a picture of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia around his head claps during a protest rally in Dhaka April 9, 2009. Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called ...
