Accessibility links

Breaking News

Cyclone Weakens After Crossing Into Bangladesh


A ship navigates the Bay of Bengal as cyclone Mahasen approaches in Chittagong, Bangladesh, May 16, 2013.
A ship navigates the Bay of Bengal as cyclone Mahasen approaches in Chittagong, Bangladesh, May 16, 2013.
A cyclone crossed into Bangladesh Thursday, forcing the evacuation of roughly one million people and causing dozens of casualties before weakening into a tropical storm over land.

Authorities say Cyclone Mahasen killed at least 14 people in Bangladesh, after bearing down on the ports of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.

The storm caused minimal damage in neighboring Burma, but French news agency AFP reported that authorities found the bodies of 22 Muslim Rohingya from Burma who were missing since their boat capsized Monday as they fled the oncoming cyclone.

A police official told AFP those bodies were discovered on a beach near the Burmese border.

Mahasen, which languished over the Bay of Bengal for several days, had triggered fears of widespread damage. The United Nations warned that millions of people could face life-threatening situations.

Officials say tens of thousands of people sought refuge in evacuation shelters.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG