( CNN ) -- Residents of coastal areas in Bangladesh and Myanmar are preparing for the arrival of a large storm that is rumbling toward them across the Bay of Bengal , with a U.N. agency warning that more than 8 million people could be in danger . The storm , Tropical Cyclone Mahasen , is forecast to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday in southeastern Bangladesh , near the city of Chittagong . It is likely to bring strong wind and heavy rain to the surrounding region . On Myanmar 's western coast , there are concerns about the safety of tens of thousands of Muslims who are living in makeshift camps in low-lying areas after their homes were destroyed in sectarian violence last year . `` Mahasen could be life threatening for millions of people in Bangladesh , Myanmar and India , '' Valerie Amos , the U.N. 's top official for humanitarian affairs , said in a statement Tuesday . The number of people the storm will affect depends on the exact path it plows across the region and its strength when it reaches land . Aid agencies and local authorities are scrambling to make sure residents are as prepared as possible , taking measures that include moving people at risk to higher ground and putting emergency supplies in position . `` There is a flurry of activity going on both in Bangladesh and in Myanmar ahead of the storm , '' Andreas Von Weissenberg of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent said Wednesday . `` It 's really a race against time in many ways . '' The latest prediction suggests Mahasen will bring wind gusts of 85 to 90 kilometers per hour ( 53 to 56 mph ) to the Bangladeshi coast , CNN International meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said . That puts it at the level of a tropical storm , he said , weaker than the 120-kilometer-per-hour gusts of a hurricane . `` This will be a rain event for most in the area , '' Cabrera said . `` If you are in a concrete building , you will be fine outside of localized very heavy flooding . '' The floods could cause problems in low-lying areas , particularly the flimsy camps in Myanmar 's Rakhine state . As the storm approaches , Myanmar authorities and relief agencies have begun working to relocate tens of thousands of the camps ' inhabitants . Most of them are Rohingya , a stateless Muslim minority who suffered during decades of military rule in Myanmar . Sectarian violence erupted in Rakhine last year between Buddhists and Muslims , resulting in the deaths of scores of people , the majority of them Rohingya . Since then , more than 100,000 Muslims have been forced to live in camps . In a report last month , the advocacy group Human Rights Watch accused Myanmar authorities of involvement in a Buddhist campaign of `` ethnic cleansing '' against the Rohingya in Rakhine . The Myanmar government dismissed the report as `` one-sided . '' The efforts to relocate some of the displaced Rohingya living in the camps appear to have been hindered by distrust of the security forces involved . Some of those in the camps `` are reluctant to relocate , and some communities have refused to use military vehicles or to shelter in military barracks , '' the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ) said in an update on the situation Tuesday . Alternative relocation sites are being sought , it said . On Monday night , a boat ferrying people from one camp in Rakhine to safer areas hit rocks and capsized , the OCHA said , citing the government . Fifty-eight people are believed to still be missing from the accident . Some survived , and an unspecified number died , the agency said . Bangladesh authorities appear to be well organized for the storm 's possible threat to the low-lying and densely populated nation . As many as 50,000 volunteers are giving out early warnings , providing advice , helping people relocate and preparing to give first aid and distribute relief items , Von Weissenberg said . Bangladesh has learned to take a cautious approach to storms after the catastrophic impact of Cyclone Bhola in 1970 that is estimated to have killed 400,000 people , according to the OCHA . CNN 's Brian Walker contributed to this report from Hong Kong and Saeed Ahmed from Dhaka , Bangladesh .
Tropical Storm Mahasen is moving toward the Bangladesh coast . A government report warns that millions of people may be in danger . The storm is expected to be weaker than hurricane strength when it reaches land . There are concerns about the safety of Muslims living in low - lying camps in Bangladesh .