Cyclone Fani weakened to a depression as it barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India. Police in Bangladesh put the death toll there at 12.

More than 1.6 million people were taken to shelters in Bangladesh, said officials, with at least 36 villages flooded by a storm surge and more than 2,000 homes destroyed.

“Six people died after they were hit by falling trees or collapsed walls, and six have died from lightning,” said disaster official Benazir Ahmed.

In the coastal town of Banishanta, where embankments burst and some 250 families were marooned overnight, most houses were semi-submerged under water while a few straw huts had been washed away.

Ferries on large rivers remained out of action but those on smaller waterways resumed operations.