Cyclone Remal: At least 16 killed in Bangladesh and India

In neighbouring India, Sumit Gupta, a senior official in the West Bengal state government, confirmed the deaths of at least six civilians, including three who had been electrocuted.

The cyclone destroyed thousands of homes, uprooted trees and damaged power lines. Strong winds blew the roofs off some tin and thatched houses, while mud huts were flattened.

Ahead of Cyclone Remal, nearly three million people in Bangladesh saw their electricity shut off to avoid accidents, ministry officials said. Authorities in West Bengal quoted by Reuters news agency said at least 1,200 power poles had been uprooted.

“We have had no electricity since night, my mobile battery will run out any time,” Rahat Raja from Bangladesh’s coastal district of Satkhira told Reuters.

A villager from Bagerhat in the country’s south told the BBC the cyclone had created food shortages.

“There are no vehicles available on the road. There are shortages of food also. All shops are closed since yesterday,” Mohammed Ali said.

Among the country’s affected areas is Cox’s Bazar in the southeast, where camps housing the nearly a million Rohingya refugees are at risk from landslides and flooding due to their flimsy temporary shelters.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) in the Asia Pacific region said they warned people in the camps, and had trained volunteers on standby, ready to relocate people living in “high-risk areas”.

Save the Children said it had sent four emergency response teams to the country’s affected areas, including a medical team, to support recovery.

The charity’s country director Shumon Sengupta said the cyclone “shows yet again how vulnerable Bangladesh is to extreme weather events”.