At least 15 dead as Cyclone Fani moves from India to Bangladesh

An auto-rickshaw and uprooted trees lie along a road in Puri district after Cyclone Fani hit Odisha in India. Credit: AP

At least 15 people have been killed in India and Bangladesh in Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest storms to hit the region in decades.

The storm ripped through the Indian state of Odisha on Friday, uprooting trees and power lines and smashing traditional thatched-roof huts.

On Saturday, Fani crossed over India's West Bengal state and moved north-east toward Bangladesh, weakening from a severe cyclonic storm to a cyclonic storm.

At least a dozen people were killed in Bangladesh as the cyclone hovered over the country's south-western coast, delivering battering rain storms.

Lighting killed at least six people, local newspapers and TV reported.

The storm caused damage across eastern India Credit: AP

In India, where an unprecedented 1.2 million were evacuated from low-lying areas and placed in hundreds of shelters, India's National Disaster Response Force director S.N. Pradhan said three people were killed in the storm.

"The precautions that have been taken should be continued," he said, adding that downed phone lines mean that the extent of the destruction was yet to be known

Mohammad Heidarzadei, an expert on storms and cyclones at Brunel University of London, says the cyclone packed sustained wind speed of 155mph when it hit land, placing it under Category 4.

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Around 160 people are believed to have been injured as Cyclone Fani batters India's east coast, officials have said.

Government spokesman Sitanshu Kar took to Twitter to confirm that he had been told that in Puri district, there had been extensive damage to houses, old buildings and temporary shops.

"No confirmed report of deaths, but 160 reportedly injured," he said.