Bangladesh on alert as cyclone nears coast

The storm, Giri, packing winds up to 115 km (71 miles) per hour, was centerd 390 km (240 miles) from Chittagong port, and all ships and deep-sea fishing vessels had been asked to move closer to shore.
The storm could trigger over 9-feet (three-meter) high waves and swamp vast areas along the shore, said weather and administration officials.
Nearly half a million Bangladeshis were left homeless by three days of storms that killed at least 15 people earlier this month.
Storms batter the poor south Asian country every year. Cyclone Sidr, which killed nearly 3,500 people and displaced some two million in November 2007, was the most severe in the last five years.