(Adds one killed, 100 missing)

DHAKA, May 14 (Reuters) - A fisherman was killed and some 100 others were missing as rain and strong winds swept Bangladesh's coast on Monday and weather officials warned a cyclonic storm could make landfall on Tuesday.

"Peripheral wind up to 80 kph (50 mph) has begun," said a weather official at Cox's Bazar, 400 km (250 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka. He also reported moderate to medium intensity rainfall in the area.

Police said the body of a dead fisherman had been found along the Teknaf coast, 90 km (55 miles) from Cox's Bazar, while at least 20 boats with some 100 fishermen aboard were missing.

"The core of the storm was about 100 km from Cox's Bazar at midnight on Monday and could slam the shores early Tuesday with wind speed of 120 km per hour," said meteorological official Deepak Chandra Nath.

Bangladesh went on cyclone alert on Monday as officials warned the storm in the Bay of Bengal could trigger a tidal surge two metres (six feet) high.

An official said nearly 80,000 people had been evacuated to cyclone shelters.

People living in coastal areas have been told to move to safer places. Merchant and fishing vessels have been advised to return to port or take shelter at nearby islands.

Twenty merchant ships have been stranded at Chittagong, the country's main port, after it suspended operations following the storm warning.

Flights between Dhaka and Chittagong and ferry services in coastal districts have also been suspended.

Tropical storms and cyclones kill hundreds of Bangladeshis every year. One of the worst cyclones to hit the country killed 138,000 people in 1991.

(Additional reporting by Nizam Ahmed and Nurul Islam in Cox's Bazar)

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