Cyclone lashes Bangladesh, India - 33 dead

A cyclone slammed into Bangladesh and India Monday, damaging scores of homes and bursting dams that left at least 300,000 people marooned by flooding, officials said.

According to the Press Trust of India 33 people were dead including 18 in India. Bangladeshi Government weather forecaster Sanaul Haq said Cyclone Aila made landfall between Bangladesh's Khulna district and Sagar Island in India's West Bengal state, unleashing a surge as high as two metres (seven feet).

"The cyclone packed winds of up to 90 kilometres (56 miles) an hour. There are reports that a tidal surge has inundated many coastal villages," the Bangladeshi official said.

Around 100 villages along India's eastern coast were under water, according to Government minister Kanti Ganguly.

AFP