At least 24 killed as Bulbul extends flooding to eastern India, Bangladesh

This satellite loop shows Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul nearing landfall in India on, Saturday Nov. 9, 2019. (Image/UW-CIMSS)

According to Channel News Asia, at least 24 people were killed from the flooding rainfall and damaging winds that Bulbul brought to far-eastern India and Bangladesh.

Additionally, five others are missing, and over 2 million people across Bangladesh were relocated to shelters due to the cyclone.

As a severe cyclonic storm, Bulbul crossed the West Bengal coast of India, near the Sunderban Dhanchi forest late Saturday night, local time, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph (68-74 mph).

Through the rest of the weekend, Bulbul continued to move northeastward, bringing damaging winds and round after round of tropical rainfall to the region.

By late Sunday, Bulbul weakened to the deep depression with winds around 50-60 km/h (68-74 mph), the equivalent of a tropical storm in the Atlantic.

On Saturday, the official twitter account for Kolkata's airport reported it would close at 6 p.m. that day. The airport reopened Sunday morning.

The Kokata airport reported over 130 mm (5 inches) of rainfall from Bulbul before it moved out of the region.

Winds packed strong enough of a punch that some villages from West Bengal were reportedly without electricity for several days.

Despite causing travel disruptions, rain in Kolkata could briefly improve air quality in the city for the next couple of days.

On Monday, conditions began to improve as rain gradually dissipated, allowing for recovery efforts to begin.

Bulbul formed from what was once Tropical Storm Matmo that crossed the western Pacific Ocean and made landfall in Vietnam late in October. According to Colorado State University Meteorologist Philip Klotzbach, Bulbul "is the first storm to be named in the western North Pacific and then travel into the North Indian Ocean and become a named storm again since Wilma in 2013."