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Cyclone Pummels India, Bangladesh

VOA News

   The extent of the devastation caused by a powerful cyclone that
   pummeled parts of India and Bangladesh was not immediately known Friday
   because the cyclone left many towns and villages without power. At
   least 84 people have died.

   Millions of people in both countries were evacuated to shelters ahead
   of Cyclone Amphan, officials said, but some people were reluctant to
   enter the shelters for fear of contracting COVID-19.

   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to conduct aerial
   surveys of the damage in West Bengal, Odisha, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar
   on Friday. He is also set to hold meetings with local officials.

   "The impact of Amphan is worse than coronavirus," West Bengal's Chief
   Minister Mamata Banerjee said, referring to the pandemic that has
   sickened and killed millions of people across the globe, including more
   than 110,000 people in India, according to the latest figures.

   Amphan has been downgraded to a tropical depression but is still
   expected to drench parts of inland India and Bangladesh with heavy
   rains and floods, damaging some of the weaker houses and buildings.

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