Cyclone Remal pounds Bangladesh and India, leaves millions without power

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Cyclone Remal
Strong winds and heavy rain have pounded the coastal regions of Bangladesh and India as severe cyclone Remal made landfall, leaving millions without electricity after power poles fell and some trees uprooted by gusty winds.

The storm crossed the coastal regions of Bangladesh's Mongla port and the adjoining Sagar Islands in India's West Bengal state late on Sunday with wind speed measuring up to 135 kmph (about 84 mph), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The storm will gradually weaken into a cyclone during the morning on Monday and then move northeast and gradually weaken further, the IMD said in its latest weather update.

The landfall process began around 9 pm local time in India (1530 GMT) on Sunday and continued for about five hours, the regional meteorological office in Kolkata said.

One person was killed in the major metropolitan city of Kolkata when concrete chunks fell on him during the peak of the storm, police said.

Roofs of thatched huts were blown away while mud houses were flattened in the coastal areas of both countries as authorities waited to ascertain the full scale of losses.

The death toll in low-lying areas of Bangladesh has risen to at least 10 people, with more than 30,000 homes destroyed and tens of thousands more damaged, top local officials said Monday.

"They mostly died after they were crushed under fallen houses or collapsed walls," said Showkat Ali, government administrator of Barisal district, where seven people died.

Three others died in neighbouring districts, some by drowning.

Bangladesh moved about 800,000 people from the port areas of Mongla and Chittagong and nine coastal districts to storm shelters from Sunday morning. As many as 110,000 people were also taken to shelters in India.

Dhaka set up nearly 8,000 cyclone shelters and mobilised 78,000 volunteers ahead of the storm while the Indian navy said it had kept ships, aircraft, divers and medical supplies on standby for deployment if required.

While early warnings and timely evacuations helped both countries avert major casualties from the storm, there was a heavy toll on power infrastructure.

Authorities in Bangladesh shut down electricity supply to many areas in advance to avoid accidents while many coastal towns were left in the dark as fallen trees and broken lines disrupted supply, power ministry of ficials said.

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