Strong cyclone kills 14 in Bangladesh and India

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A strong cyclone lashed northeastern India and Bangladesh on Sunday, killing several people in both countries after more than 2 million moved to shelters across Bangladesh’s vast coastal region, officials and news reports said. Cyclone Bulbul left at least seven people dead in India’s West Bengal state, where the storm first made landfall at around midnight Saturday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The storm then made its way to neighboring Bangladesh, where seven people were killed, according to the United News of Bangladesh news agency.

Enamur Rahman, Bangladesh’s junior disaster management minister, said about 5,000 homes across the country’s coastal region were damaged and many trees were uprooted by the cyclone.

The Agriculture Ministry said more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) of crop land were damaged in Bangladesh. Packing winds of up to 120 km (75 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 130 kph (80 mph), Bulbul weakened when it started crossing Bangladesh’s southwestern coastal region, dumping incessant rain across the country.

Bangladesh’s weather office said the cyclone first slammed ashore at Sagar Island in the southern part of India’s West Bengal state before moving to Bangladesh. Its path included the southwestern Khulna region, which has the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border. (AP)

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