Cyclone Mahasan has weakened into a tropical storm, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over Bangladesh and sparing Burma almost entirely.

The outer bands of Cyclone Mahasen struck the southern coast of Bangladesh today, lashing remote fishing villages with heavy rain and fierce winds and forcing the evacuation of more than a million people.

IN THE days and hours before the devastating cyclone that tore through Bangladesh’s coast last week, the performance of the early warning programme was a rare bright spot in a saga of catastrophe, disaster management officials said yesterday.

More than 600,000 coastal villagers took shelter inland today as a cyclone rapidly approached Bangladesh’s south-western shores, spawning cold drizzles, strong winds and high waves, a weather official said.