Moderate cyclone storm to strike Myanmar western state

A moderate cyclone storm, centering in the Bay of Bengal, 56 km to the west of Myanmar's Maungtaw township in western Rakhine state, will land at the Rakhine coast and strike Maungtaw and Sittway townships in 12 hours, according to a weather forecast report of the Meteorology and Hydrology Department released on Wednesday afternoon. The cyclone storm turning from the yellow level to emergency red level will strike at a wind speed of 96 to 112 km per hour and trigger a tidal wave of as high as 1.8 to 2.4 meters, the report said, adding that the regional authorities has warned coastal people to take precaution measures against the expected cyclone onslaught by evacuating to highland.