Pictures of the storms

Cyclone Mahasen made landfall over southern Bangladesh on Thursday morning bringing damaging winds and flooding rains into the Mouth of the Ganges. The storm buffeted the low-lying area and killed at least 18 people in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Mud and straw huts were flattened as the storm swept across remote fishing villages. The cyclone was not as fierce as initially feared due to rapid weakening as it sped up and made landfall to the west of Chittagong.

The early arrival of the storm also meant that it arrived at low tide which had the benefit of reducing the storm surge significantly. Around 80% of Bangladesh is no more than 10 metres above sea level.

On the other side of the globe, the search and rescue efforts are still in progress in Texas after a tornado outbreak hit Texas. At least 12 twisters were reported and the number may have been as high as 16, with winds in excess of 300kph