Cyclone Aila lashed low-lying areas in eastern India and Bangladesh, destroying thousands of homes, leaving millions of people marooned and killing at least 126 before it began to ease Tuesday. The death toll in Bang-ladesh rose to at least 89 following recovery of more bodies on Tuesday, the Daily Star newspaper said in its online edition, while Indian officials said at least 29 people had died in West Bengal state. Cyclone Aila slammed into parts of coastal Bangladesh and eastern India on Monday, triggering tidal surges and flooding that forced half a million people from their homes. Conservationists expressed concern over the fate of one of the world's largest tiger populations, which was in the path of the storm. Aila tore down nearly 3,000 thatched and mud houses and uprooted a large number of trees in nearly 300 villages across India's West Bengal state, said Kanti Ganguly, a state minister. Storm surges hit coastal areas in neighboring Bangladesh, killing at least 89 people, according to the Food and Disaster Management Ministry in Dhaka. It said most victims drowned or were washed away by the waves. The newspaper Prothom Alo said tens of thousands of people were stranded as waters submerged homes.
