Cyclone Mora moves inland towards Tripura

Severe cyclonic storm Mora has lashed Bangladesh's coastal areas with heavy rains and winds before moving inland towards India's northeast. India has warned of heavy rain in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh as Mora moved further up the Bay of Bengal. It formed in the central Bay of Bengal on Sunday and turned into a cyclone Monday morning, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said. Bangladesh raised the danger signal to the highest level in the coastal areas and sea ports and evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. Mora, the first cyclonic storm of this year, battered the coastal districts of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar Tuesday morning with winds of up 128kmph. No loss of life was reported. Cyclone Mora may lose intensity and turn into a depression over the next several hours, according to the BMD. The depression may lead to heavy rainfall in the coastal areas in the next 12 hours, met office Director Shamsuddin Ahmed said. It is expected to subside in India's Monipur after travelling over Sylhet region, which is expected to record light to rain.