Tropical Cyclone Sidr kills 242 people in Bangladesh

Tropical Cyclone Sidr kills 242 people in Bangladesh

242 people killed, thousands of homes destroyed, 650,000 villagers evacuated in Bangladesh where the cyclone that slammed into Bangladesh's coast with 240 kph (140 mph) winds has been raging for two days.

Tropical Cyclone Sidr roared across the country's southwestern coast late Thursday with driving rain and high waves, leaving about 242 villagers dead from falling debris, said Nahid Sultana, an official at a cyclone control room in the capital, Dhaka .

By early Friday, the cyclone had weakened into a tropical storm and was moving across the country to the northeast, the department said, adding that while skies remained overcast, wind speed had fallen to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph).

Much of the region remained without power and telephone lines Friday.