A tropical typhoon that hit Bangladesh has left at least 24 other people dead and around 8 million people without strength in the delta country.
He said about 10,000 homes were destroyed and more than 6,000 hectares of crops were destroyed by Tropical Storm Sitrang. Thousands of fishing projects were also razed.
News firm United News of Bangladesh said some 20,000 people had been abandoned due to flooding caused by the tsunami in the southern coastal district of Bhola.
The typhoon erupted in the Bay of Bengal before heading north toward Bangladesh’s vast coast, prompting the government to evacuate thousands of people to cyclone shelters on Monday.
Heavy rains fell across the country on the day, flooding many swathes of Bangladesh’s southern and southwestern coastal regions.
The typhoon weakened Tuesday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and wind gusts of up to 53 mph.
Weather in the capital Dhaka, which had recorded gusts of up to 55 mph on Monday night, said the danger had passed.
Minhazur Rahman, an official with Mirshorai in Chattogram, said divers recovered 8 bodies on Tuesday after a dredge capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night.
Raihan Mehbub, a Cumilla district official, said a couple and their four-year-old daughter died after a tree fell on their home Monday night. Both slept and died on the spot.
At least thirteen other people were killed in separate incidents across the country, Dhaka-based Somoy TV reported. Most died after being hit by falling trees, others died from collapsed structures or drowning, local media reported.
Nasrul Hamid, deputy minister of electric power and mineral resources, said about 8 million users out of a total of 48 million were left without power after fallen trees broke distribution lines or power poles were knocked down, most commonly in rural areas.
He said nationwide power distribution would return to general until at least Wednesday.