Strong gales and heavy rain triggered by the first major cyclone of the year lashed the coastlines of India and Bangladesh on Monday, killing at least 21 people and cutting power to millions.
The winds had not stopped as night fell, with water rising in many places and overwhelming drainage systems, Bangladeshi climate expert Liakath Ali said. "Many people are stranded - it will be another long night ahead with millions not having electricity or shelter," he said in a statement.
"And people having no idea of how damaged their homes, land, and livestock are." Cyclone Remal is the first of the frequent storms expected to pound the low-lying coasts of the South Asian neighbors this year as climate change drives up surface temperatures at sea.
Packing speeds of up to 135 kph, it crossed the area around Bangladesh's southern port of Mongla and the adjoining Sagar Islands in India's West Bengal late on Sunday, weather officials said, making landfall at about 9 p.m.
More than 8.4 million people, including 3.2 million children, are at high health, nutrition, sanitation, and safety risk, said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
At least 10 people were killed in Bangladesh, disaster management chief Mijanur Rahman told Reuters, adding some victims died en route to shelters or when their homes or walls collapsed or drowned during the storm.
"People are usually very reluctant to leave their livestock and homes to go to cyclone shelters," he said.
"They wait until the last minute when it is often too late." State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mohibbur Rahman said the cyclone destroyed nearly 35,000 homes across 19 districts. An additional 115,000 homes were partially damaged. "Many areas remain waterlogged, and fish enclosures and trees have been devastated.
As more information becomes available, the full scope of the impact will be clearer."
In India's West Bengal state, four people were electrocuted, authorities said, taking the death toll in the state to six. Bangladesh shut down electricity supply to some areas in advance to avoid accidents, while in many coastal towns fallen trees and snapped electricity lines further disrupted supply, power ministry officials said. Nearly 3 million people in Bangladesh were without electricity, officials added.
West Bengal authorities said at least 1,200 power poles were uprooted, while 300 mud huts had been razed. Bangladeshi State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said in a Facebook post that Remal has caused extensive damage nationwide, urging people to be patient as repairs were underway. "Our crews began repairing the lines as soon as the wind speed subsided," he said.
Bangladeshi weather experts said Tuesday that a deadly cyclone that carved a swathe of destruction was one of the quickest-forming and longest-lasting they'd experienced, blaming climate change for the shift.
Azizur Rahman, director of the state-run Bangladesh Meteorological Department told AFP, said the cyclone formed more quickly than almost all the cyclones they have monitored in recent decades. "Of course, quick cyclone formation and the long duration of cyclones are due to the impact of climate change," Rahman said.
"It took three days for it to turn into a severe cyclone from low pressure in the Bay of Bengal... I've never seen a cyclone formed from a low pressure in such a quick time", he said. "Usually, a cyclone is formed in the south and southwest of the Bay of Bengal, then takes seven to eight days to turn into a severe cyclone." But while scientists say climate change is fuelling more storms, better forecasting, and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced death tolls. In Bangladesh,
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