Bangladesh on alert as Cyclone Bulbul approaches; see Live tracker

Bangladesh government offices have suspended work in 13 coastal districts due to Cyclone Bulbul.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The weather office in Dhaka issued the most severe storm signal as Cyclone Bulbul is on track to slam ashore Saturday evening.
• Authorities have also suspended all activities in the country's main seaports including in Chittagong, which handles almost 80 percent of exports and imports.

Authorities in Bangladesh have put more than 50,000 volunteers on standby as a strong cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is expected to hit the low-lying nation's vast southwestern and southern coast. The weather office in Dhaka on Saturday morning issued the most severe storm signal as Cyclone Bulbul is on track to slam ashore Saturday evening.

Disaster Management Minister Enamul Haque says government offices have suspended work in 13 coastal districts. Authorities also have suspended all activities in the country's main seaports including in Chittagong, which handles almost 80 percent of exports and imports. Thousands of shelters have been opened.

Here is a list of do's and don'ts released by Indian government disaster management authority:

Sea conditions will be high to very high till Saturday evening and can become high to very rough for the subsequent 12 hours, the Indian government said in a release advising fishermen not to venture into West-central Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours and over north Bay of Bengal for the next 24 hours.

Here is a real-time wind tracker to keep track of Cyclone Bulbul as it moves towards the coast: