Volunteers helped evacuate thousands of people Wednesday from Bangladesh's southern coast and the government warned ships to seek shelter as a cyclone roared offshore. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department issued a bulletin putting the low-lying country's three major maritime ports -- Chittagong, Mongla and Cox's Bazar -- on the highest alert. Authorities suspended operations at the country's main seaport, Chittagong, while volunteers helped thousands of people move to cyclone shelters and other safer areas along the southern coast, state-run Bangladesh Television said. The cyclone was in the Bay of Bengal, about 420 miles (675 km) south-southwest of Cox's Bazar, with winds of up to 134 mph (215 kph), forecasters said. The southern seaside resort town of Cox's Bazar appeared deserted after the warning was issued Wednesday evening, with rough seas.
