Cyclone Sidr hits northeast on way to Bangladesh

GUWAHATI: The devastating Cyclone Sidr that battered Bangladesh killing hundreds of people have also hit India's northeastern region by flattening mud-and-thatch huts, uprooting telephone and electric poles, besides damaging agricultural fields.

The impact of the cyclone, packing speeds of up to 130 km per hour, was felt in parts of Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura, with the region also lashed by heavy rains and thundershowers.

At least 20 people were injured and an estimated 800 huts flattened in Tripura with the cyclone devastating coastal areas in adjoining Bangladesh triggering an international relief effort.

"The cyclone had hit some areas in southwest Tripura although the intensity was weakening into a depression. An alert was sounded Thursday and now we hope the danger is over now," P.K. Singh, a meteorological scientist in Tripura, said.

The cyclone has also hit Mizoram on Friday damaging at least 25 houses, besides damaging paddy cultivation in some parts of the state.

Life in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya was also hit with electricity and telephone lines snapped and scores of rooftops blown away with gushing winds sweeping the area.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati has forecasted rains or thundershowers over most parts of the northeastern states. Cherrapunjee, Shillong and Agartala recorded very heavy rainfall at 155 mm, 138 mm and 100 mm respectively since Thursday. Various places in south Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland also recorded heavy rainfall.

Air India's Calcutta-Silchar flight, with 103 passengers, was cancelled Friday because of the turbulent weather.