NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of mobile users in Bangladesh’s flood and cyclone-prone areas will now receive advance warning of an impending natural disaster through an alert on their cell phones, a government official says.

Bangladesh — one of the world’s most densely populated countries — is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, including cyclones, storm surges, droughts, floods and earthquakes, which often affect millions of people.

In a bid to minimise loss of life and damage to property, Bangladeshi authorities have signed an agreement with two mobile operators in the country to provide disaster early warning alerts to subscribers.

Grameenphone and state-owned Teletalk will send instant messages to their subscribers in two of the most vulnerable areas — flood-prone north-central Shirajganj district and cyclone-prone Cox’s Bazar district on the coast.

“This new initiative will mean that people will get an alert on their phones warning them that they are likely to face flooding or a cyclone,” Syed Ashraf, communications specialist for the country’s Disaster Management Bureau, told Reuters by telephone.

“So they will then be able to take action like evacuate their homes and seek shelter in assigned places.”

More at: http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-40562420090624?sp=true