Deadly Bangladesh cyclone one of longest seen

Deadly Cyclone Remal hits Bangladesh and India, leaving destruction and death, with experts blaming climate change for the impact

Bangladeshi weather experts said on May 28 that a deadly cyclone that carved a swath of destruction was one of the quickest-forming and longest-lasting they'd experienced, blaming climate change for the shift.

Cyclone Remal, which made landfall in low-lying Bangladesh and neighbouring India on May 26 evening with fierce gales and crashing waves, left at least 38 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes, smashed seawalls and flooded cities across the two countries.

The toll includes 12 workers who died on May 28 when a quarry collapsed in India's Mizoram state, which the government attributed to torrential rains as the storm progressed inland.

"In terms of its land duration, it is one of the longest in the country's history," Azizur Rahman, director of the state-run Bangladesh Meteorological Department told AFP, adding it had battered the country for more than 36 hours.

In contrast, Cyclone Aila, which hammered Bangladesh in 2009, lasted around 34 hours.

Cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh in recent decades, and the number of superstorms hitting its densely populated coast has increased sharply, from one a year to as many as three, due to the impact of climate change.

Slow-moving and longer-lasting storms bring greater destruction.