A tropical storm that lashed Bangladesh has left at least 24 people dead and about eight million without power across the delta nation.
The government said about 10,000 homes were damaged and more than 6,000 hectares of crops were destroyed by Tropical Storm Sitrang. Thousands of fishing projects were also washed away.
The United News of Bangladesh news agency said about 20,000 people were marooned because of flooding triggered by tidal surges in the southern coastal district of Bhola.
The storm brewed in the Bay of Bengal before turning north towards Bangladesh’s vast coast, prompting authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people to cyclone shelters on Monday.
Heavy rains battered the country throughout the day, flooding many areas in the coastal regions across southern and south-western Bangladesh.
The storm weakened on Tuesday afternoon, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 40mph and wind gusts up to 53mph.
The weather office in the capital Dhaka, which had recorded gusts up to 55mph on Monday evening, said the danger had now passed.
Minhazur Rahman, a government official in Mirshorai in Chattogram, said divers recovered eight bodies on Tuesday after a dredger capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night.
Raihan Mehbub, an official in Cumilla district, said a couple and their four-year-old daughter died after a tree fell on their home late on Monday night. They were asleep and died at the scene.
At least 13 others died in separate incidents across the country, Dhaka-based Somoy TV reported. Most died after being hit by falling trees, though others died from collapsing structures or drowning, local media reported.
Nasrul Hamid, junior minister for power and mineral resources, said about eight million out of a total of 48 million users remained without electricity after falling trees damaged distribution lines or electric poles were knocked over, mostly in rural areas.
He said power distribution across the country would not return to normal until at least Wednesday.
