cyclone aila

Cyclone Aila strength eases off Some 100,000 people have been evacuated to safer places The cyclonic storm Aila hit the Indian city of Calcutta and nearby areas, killing more than 30 people, before weakening and heading north. It uprooted a large number of trees in the city, seriously hampering traffic. Meteorologists said the cyclone made landfall in south-western Bangladesh on Monday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in Bangladesh and India to temporary shelters after wind speeds of 70km/h to 90km/h were reported. The West Bengal state's disaster management minister Mortaza Hossain told the BBC that more than 100,000 people had become homeless. "We have rescued more than 100,000 people and send them to safer places. We are now arranging dry food packets and drinking water pouches for them," he said.