Cyclone Bulbul path latest: At least six killed as deadly storm hits India and Bangladesh

Patrick Grafton-Green10 November 2019

At least six people have been killed in Bangladesh after a strong cyclone slammed into the Bay of Bengal.

Some 30 people have been injured and around 6,000 homes were damaged, authorities said, while families are desperately searching for 36 missing fishermen.

Five of the six victims were killed by falling trees, according to reports.

Two fishing boats are yet to return and relatives have been unable to contact the men on board, said Anwar Uddin, a local public representative in the southern Bhola district.

Packing winds of up to 75mph, with gusts of up to 80mph, the cyclone made landfall at Sagar Island in the southern part of India's West Bengal state before moving towards Bangladesh.

A pedestrian makes his way under heavy rain as Cyclone Bulbul hits Khulna
AFP via Getty Images

Some two million people from all of Bangladesh's 13 coastal districts were moved to over 5,000 shelters.

The weather office said coastal districts were likely to be inundated by storm surges of up to seven feet above normal tide because of the impact of the cyclone.

About 1,200 mainly domestic tourists were stuck at the Saint Martin island in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Enamur Rahman, junior minister for disaster management and relief, told Reuters.

"With the signal down to 4 all of them will be rescued," he said, referring to a storm-warning system.

A woman clears debris from her home damaged by Cyclone Bulbul in Bakkhali, India
AFP via Getty Images

Several ships from Bangladesh's navy and coastguard were kept ready in parts of the affected region for an emergency response, it was reported.

On Saturday, volunteers used loudspeakers to ask people to move to shelters in Chittagong and other regions, according to the Disaster Management Ministry.

Authorities suspended all activities in the country's main seaports, including in Chittagong, which handles almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh's exports and imports. All vessels and fishing boats were told to stop operating.

Local authorities ordered school buildings and mosques to be used as shelters in addition to dedicated cyclone shelters.

A woman cleans her house damaged by Cyclone Bulbul in Bakkhali
AFP via Getty Images

The path of the cyclone includes the south-western Khulna region, which has the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, straddling the Bangladesh-India border.

The storm was also expected to impact parts of north-eastern India, where precautions were being taken.

India's states of West Bengal and Odisha have received heavy rainfall since early Saturday and there were reports of hundreds of trees being uprooted.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December. In 1999, a super-cyclone battered the coast of India's Odisha state for 30 hours, killing 10,000 people.

Additional reporting by agencies

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