Tropical cyclone Sidr slams into Bangladesh by Denise Kane
Tropical cyclone Sidr made land on Thursday as it slammed into the south east coast of Bangladesh. Around 240 people have so far been killed by the storm, which forced more than 650,000 residents to leave their homes.
Sidr lashed the coastline with winds of more than 140mph (240km/h), creating storm surges which reached more than a metre high (3.3 feet). The heavy rains caused widespread flooding which destroyed thousands of homes, and left many districts without power.
Much of Bangladesh is low lying and the country is no stranger to tropical cyclones. One of the deadliest on record, Cyclone Gorky hit the Chittagong province in April 1991, killing more than 130,000 people. More than 10 million were left homeless after the cyclone created a 6 metre (20 foot) storm surge, causing widespread flooding and devastation.
Sidr weakened overnight and on Friday was downgraded into a tropical storm. Although forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expected it to dissipate over the coming days, it could be a number of weeks before those affected by the storm can begin to rebuild their lives.
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