The death toll from Cyclone Aila reached 40 on Tuesday after it lashed eastern India and Bangladesh and stranded thousands in their flooded villages, officials said. The storm destroyed nearly 3,000 thatched and mud houses and toppled a large number of trees in nearly 300 villages across India's West Bengal state, said Kanti Ganguly, a state minister. He said 34 people were killed in West Bengal. The cyclone also caused high waves to hit coastal areas in neighboring Bangladesh, killing at least six people, said a statement by Bangladesh's Food and Disaster Management Ministry. The country's leading newspaper, Prothom Alo, said tens of thousands of people were stranded as waters submerged their homes.
