Cyclone Sitrang claims 9 lives

KUAKATA, Bangladesh (AFP) — At least nine people have died after a cyclone slammed into Bangladesh, forcing the evacuation of around a million people from their homes, officials said Tuesday.

"Nine people have died, most by trees falling including three from one family in (the eastern district of) Cumilla," Jebun Nahar, a government official, told AFP.

Cyclone "Sitrang" made landfall in southern Bangladesh late Monday but authorities managed to get about a million people to safety before the monster weather system hit.

Heavy rains lashed much of the country, flooding cities such as Dhaka, Khulna and Barisal — which witnessed 324 millimeters (13 inches) of rainfall on Monday.

People evacuated from low-lying regions such as remote islands and river banks were moved to thousands of multi-storey cyclone shelters, Disaster Management Ministry secretary Kamrul Ahsan told AFP.

"They spent the night in cyclone shelters," he said.

In some cases police had to cajole villagers who were reluctant to abandon their homes, officials said.