Authorities in both countries managed to evacuate more than 3 million people to storm shelters before Amphan struck.
KOLKATA/DHAKA - The most powerful cyclone to strike eastern India and Bangladesh in over a decade killed at least 82 people, officials said, as rescue teams scoured devastated coastal villages on Thursday, hampered by torn down power lines and widespread flooding.
She said the storm had carved a 400-km long swathe through the state and announced a 10 billion rupee emergency fund to rebuild roads, water and health systems. “These areas have been devastated,” she said.“I have never seen such a cyclone in my life. It seemed like the end of the world,” said Azgar Ali, 49, a resident of Satkhira district on the Bangladeshi coast. “All I could do was to pray ... Almighty Allah saved us.
Villagers could be seen trying to lift fallen electricity poles, fishermen hauling their boats out of a choppy sea, and uprooted trees lying strewn across the countryside. Low-lying Bangladesh has a history of cyclones, but even by those standards Amphan was powerful, said Mostak Hussain, humanitarian director for Save the Children in Bangladesh.
“The tidal surge submerged part of the forest,” said Belayet Hossain, a forest official on the Bangladeshi side. “We have seen trees uprooted, the tin roofs of the guard towers blown off.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
COVID-19: Heavy rains in India and Bangladesh as cyclone bears downDHAKA/KOLKATA, May 20 (Reuters) - Heavy rains and winds lashed two eastern Indian states and parts of Bangladesh hours before a powerful cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, with rescue teams evacuating millions of villagers to higher ground in an operation complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more »
Millions batten down as ‘super cyclone’ Amphan hits Bangladesh, IndiaAmphan is the first 'super cyclone' to form over the Bay of Bengal since 1999, and packed winds gusting up to 185 kilometres per hour.
Read more »
Strongest cyclone in more than a decade slams into India, BangladeshMillions of people were evacuated in an operation complicated by the ongoing fight against Covid19.
Read more »
Tales from Begaja - a year after Cyclone IdaiCyclone Idai tore through central Mozambique in March 2019. Thousands of lives were lost during the course of the cyclone and subsequent flooding. Rural villages, abundant with life, were washed away in an instant. With little information regarding these unmapped villages available, their suffering and grief, let alone existence, remain unknown to most of the outside world. TimesLIVE unearthed tales of loss, suffering and grief from one such village, Begaja.
Read more »
Job losses soar, consumers can't cover their bills as Covid-19 lockdown bitesThe research on the financial impact of Covid-19 on consumers also showed that 82% of households reported their income was reduced as of early May, compared with 79% in early April.
Read more »
KZN prepares for deployment of 28 Cuban doctors in Covid-19 fightAt least 28 Cuban doctors are readying themselves to be deployed to KwaZulu-Natal this week.
Read more »