Storms are likely to be formed in the Bay of Bengal and hit southern coasts from May 10 to 20, according to Meteorology and Hydrology Department director general Chit Kyaw.

‘Depressions in the Bay of Bengal are likely to be stronger. So, the coasts are likely to be hit by storms’, he told Mizzima.

The state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmarsaid that rain or thundershowers were likely to be scattered in the Irrawaddy Delta region, the Tenasserim coast and Burma’s offshore islands with gale force winds of up to 40 miles per hour.

The Myanmar Climate Change Watch Website published by Dr. Tun Lwin, the former director general of the Meteorology and Hydrology Department, also said that storms were likely to form in the Bay of Bengal from May 10 to 17.

Chit Kyaw said that people should be cautious of the weather.

‘Only after a storm has formed, can we know its direction’, he said. ‘We usually have two or three days to make preparations. We will report the direction of the storm and which townships are likely to be hit.

‘Residents should be able to make preparations’, he said. ‘During a storm, they should follow the instructions in newspaper articles and the media’.