Bangladesh storm weakens as heads for Myanmar

DHAKA, May 15 (Reuters) A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal weakened as it roared past Bangladesh early today, causing little damage, weather officials said.

They said the storm, with winds up of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph), crossed the Bangladesh coast at dawn, heading east towards Myanmar.

One fisherman was confirmed killed and some 100 others aboard 20 fishing boats were reported missing, officials in Cox' Bazar coastal district said.

The storm and accompanying rain disrupted power supplies, uprooted trees and damaged crops. But no details were available immediately.

The Met office in Cox's Bazar, 400 km southeast of the capital, Dhaka, recorded over 100 mm of rain in 24 hours till today morning and forecast more heavy showers through the day.

''The core of the storm has passed away towards Myanmar,'' one meteorological official said.

Bangladesh went on cyclone alert yesterday as officials warned the storm in the Bay of Bengal could trigger a tidal surge two metres high.

An official said last night that nearly 80,000 people had been evacuated to cyclone shelters.

Tropical storms and cyclones kill hundreds of Bangladeshis every year. One of the worst cyclones to hit the country killed 138,000 people in 1991.

Reuters HK VP0725