Hurricane Fani killed 15 people in India and Bangladesh

Hurricane Fani caused at least 15 deaths, including three in India and 12 in Bangladesh., after touching down Friday in the state of Odisha, in eastern India, with winds of up to 250 km / h, equivalent to those of 39, a hurricane category 4, declared Mohammad Heidarzadei, cyclone specialist at Brunel University in London.

A colossal preventive operation including the The evacuation of over a million people has apparently saved India from the devastating toll of the cyclone, the most important of the last decades, announced Saturday the authorities.

However, it remains to know the actual extent of the damage.

Saturday night, they were registered three dead in Indiasaid the director of the National Force for Disaster Response, S.N. Pradhan. The storm tore the straw roofs of huts, knocked down trees and utility poles, took the roof of a medical school and covered the coast with debris.

"The precautions taken must continue", said Pradhan. Authorities have warned that the death toll may increase as communications are re-established.

Fani crossed the state of West Bengal and then moved north-east towards Bangladeshafter having gone from a violent cyclonic storm to a cyclonic storm.

He had confirmed the death of at least 12 people in Bangladesh as the cyclone crossed the southwest coast Saturday in the morning with heavy rain. Lightning killed at least six people, according to local newspapers and television.

However, the number of dead had not increased on Saturday afternoon, an indication that Bangladesh has also taken effective measures.

The projections indicate that the system will affect about 100 million people in South Asia, from distant Andaman Islands in Bengal Bay to Mount Everest in Nepal.