Cyclone Mahasen

Sri Lanka's top meteorology official apologised for naming deadly cyclone Mahasen after a king who built massive irrigation tanks well over a millennium ago and was venerated as a god.

Myanmar's victims of sectarian strife were spared the full force of Cyclone Mahasen, but many are now returning to flimsy tents in flood-prone camps with the monsoon just weeks away.

A baby boy who was born in a Bangladeshi storm shelter was named after an impending cyclone by villagers who hoped the gesture would protect them from the storm's wrath, an official said on Friday.

There is a sigh of relief in Mizoram as the cyclone Mahasen, feared to hit the state last night, lost its speed before reaching the region, Chief Scientific Officer Vanlalzara of state Science and Technology Department said today.

Bangladesh began cleaning up on Friday after a killer cyclone wrecked thousands of homes along its coast while breathing a sigh of relief that the damage was not much worse.

Cyclone Mahasen weakened by Thursday afternoon into a tropical storm and then dissipated, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely, meteorological officials said.

Cyclone Mahasan weakened Thursday afternoon into a tropical storm, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over coastal Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely.

With cyclone Mahasen likely to hit Tripura tonight, the state may witness heavy rains and a gale of 50-60 km per hour, the met office said.

A cyclone ripped into the Bangladeshi coast on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people hunkered down in evacuation shelters including in a region of Myanmar torn by communal unrest.

Bangladesh is evacuating one million people with Cyclone Mahasen expected to hit its low-lying delta coast on Thursday evening, said the United Nations, which estimated 4.1 million people were at risk due to gale-force winds, heavy rain and flooding.

A cyclone only a day away carries wind and rain that could become deadly. But in dozens of refugee camps that spatter Myanmar's western coast, the order to evacuate ahead of the storm was met with widespread refusal.

With Cyclone Mahasen likely to hit the northeast state on Thursday night, the Mizoram government has decided to close all schools on Friday and declared a 12-hour holiday on Thursday.

Around 200 cyclone centres have been set up across Bangladesh and thousands of residents in coastal areas evacuated following forecast of cyclone Mahasen hitting the country on Thursday at 4 pm.

Bangladesh on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people as forecasters said a cyclonic storm would hit low-lying coastal areas by early Thursday.

A cyclone threatening to lash low-lying coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar appears to have weakened, but still poses a risk to more than eight million people, according to the UN.

Sri Lanka's top meteorology official apologised for naming deadly cyclone Mahasen after a king who built massive irrigation tanks well over a millennium ago and was venerated as a god.

Myanmar's victims of sectarian strife were spared the full force of Cyclone Mahasen, but many are now returning to flimsy tents in flood-prone camps with the monsoon just weeks away.

A baby boy who was born in a Bangladeshi storm shelter was named after an impending cyclone by villagers who hoped the gesture would protect them from the storm's wrath, an official said on Friday.

There is a sigh of relief in Mizoram as the cyclone Mahasen, feared to hit the state last night, lost its speed before reaching the region, Chief Scientific Officer Vanlalzara of state Science and Technology Department said today.

Bangladesh began cleaning up on Friday after a killer cyclone wrecked thousands of homes along its coast while breathing a sigh of relief that the damage was not much worse.

Cyclone Mahasen weakened by Thursday afternoon into a tropical storm and then dissipated, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely, meteorological officials said.

Cyclone Mahasan weakened Thursday afternoon into a tropical storm, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over coastal Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely.

With cyclone Mahasen likely to hit Tripura tonight, the state may witness heavy rains and a gale of 50-60 km per hour, the met office said.

A cyclone ripped into the Bangladeshi coast on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people hunkered down in evacuation shelters including in a region of Myanmar torn by communal unrest.

Bangladesh is evacuating one million people with Cyclone Mahasen expected to hit its low-lying delta coast on Thursday evening, said the United Nations, which estimated 4.1 million people were at risk due to gale-force winds, heavy rain and flooding.

A cyclone only a day away carries wind and rain that could become deadly. But in dozens of refugee camps that spatter Myanmar's western coast, the order to evacuate ahead of the storm was met with widespread refusal.

With Cyclone Mahasen likely to hit the northeast state on Thursday night, the Mizoram government has decided to close all schools on Friday and declared a 12-hour holiday on Thursday.

Around 200 cyclone centres have been set up across Bangladesh and thousands of residents in coastal areas evacuated following forecast of cyclone Mahasen hitting the country on Thursday at 4 pm.

Bangladesh on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people as forecasters said a cyclonic storm would hit low-lying coastal areas by early Thursday.

A cyclone threatening to lash low-lying coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar appears to have weakened, but still poses a risk to more than eight million people, according to the UN.