CYCLONE AMPHAN LASHES BANGLADESH, KILLING AT LEAST 16

Dhaka: At least 16 people were killed as Cyclone Amphan slammed the Bangladesh coastlines after making landfall in the country on Wednesday night, an official said.

Ayesha Akhter, assistant director at the Health Emergency Operations Centre, told Xinhua that the cyclone killed 16 people in about a dozen districts.

Almost all the cyclone deaths occurred as a result of falling trees, said Ms Ayesha.

Many Bangladesh coasts have been battered by gusty winds which also caused widespread power and water outages. Dozens of villages in the coastal districts have reportedly been flooded and many susceptible houses have been damaged fully or partially.