New Delhi/Dhaka - Cyclone Bulbul lashed coastal areas in
eastern India and southern Bangladesh overnight, killing 11 people,
forcing mass evacuations and leaving a trail of destruction in the
region, officials said on Sunday.
The cyclone brought heavy rains and winds with speeds of up to 120
kilometres per hour as it made landfall on Saturday night in the
Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest between India and
Bangladesh, on the coastline of the Bay of Bengal.
In India, one man was killed when a tree fell on him in Kolkata, the
capital of West Bengal state, police confirmed.
Six more people died, mostly in incidents of wall collapses in the
North 24 Parganas and East Medinipur districts, state disaster
officials said.
In the neighbouring state of Odisha, another person died in another
incident of a wall collapse, state disaster management chief PK Jena
said.
In Bangladesh, the tropical storm killed three people who were hit by
falling trees, police officials said.
Bangladesh moved 2.1 million people to safety ahead of the cyclone,
state minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman said, while
India shifted nearly 125,000 people, mostly in West Bengal state.
Flights to and from the region's main airport at Kolkata were
suspended as a precautionary measure.
Bangladeshi forest conservator Moyeenuddin Khan said he had no
reports of major damage to the Sundarbans, where the storm made
landfall.
"Roofs made of corrugated iron in some of our forest offices ... have
blown away and some trees were uprooted," Khan said.
The 140,000-hectare forest, shared between Bangladesh and India, is a
UNESCO World Heritage site and home to many rare species, including
Bengal tigers.
The storm had moved to the north-east and weakened into a "deep
depression" over coastal Bangladesh by Sunday afternoon, with wind
speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, the Indian Meteorological
Department said. It was expected to weaken further by late Sunday
night.
Rescue and relief teams have been sent to affected areas to assess
the damage, Amalendu Dutta, an official in the state disaster
management, said by phone from Kolkata.
"Hundreds of trees and electricity pylons were uprooted. Large
numbers of thatched houses and of paddy farms have been damaged,"
Dutta said.
Jena said roads were being cleared and electricity was being restored
in Odisha's affected regions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has reviewed the
situation in eastern India and assured the region of all possible
assistance from the central government.
Bangladeshi officials said the storm left crops damaged over vast
coastal areas.
"We have asked the local administration to conduct quick assessment
into the damages caused by the cyclone," Shahadat Hossain, head of
Bangladesh's disaster management department, told dpa by phone.
Standing crops, especially paddy and vegetable plantations, may have
been dealt a severe blow, he said, adding that a detailed report on
the damage would be available in a week.
Cyclones often form over the Bay of Bengal from April to November,
bringing widespread destruction in coastal regions in India and
Bangladesh.