Bangladesh had shifted over 20 lakh people to storm shelters and deployed the military to deal with the powerful cyclone.
Women walk along a river bank ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone Amphan, (Photo: AFP)
Cyclone Amphan `has killed at least 12 people in seven coastal districts of Bangladesh before turning into a land depression, according to the authorities on Thursday.
The cyclone is likely to move further in a north-northeasterly direction and weaken gradually, bdnews24 quoted the Bangladesh Meteorological Department as saying in its latest update.
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Patuakhali, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Bhola and Barguna are among the seven districts where casualties were reported.
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According to the Met Office, the maritime ports to lower great danger signals and hoist local cautionary signal No. 3 instead, said Shamsuddin Ahmed, Director of the weather office.
Cyclone AMPHAN had weakened into a “very severe” cyclonic storm by late Wednesday evening while half of eye was over land. However, it was packed with enough force to pulverise coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal where nearly 7 lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas and shifted to safety.
Cyclone Amphan also wreaked havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha as it triggered heavy rainfall, coupled with high-velocity winds while moving towards the West Bengal.
It was the most powerful storm since cyclone ‘Sidr’ killed nearly 3,500 people in 2007.
Bangladesh had shifted over 20 lakh people to storm shelters and deployed the military to deal with the powerful cyclone.
Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather on Tuesday described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999.
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