A small boat capsized on a lake in northern Bangladesh, killing nine people as the remnants of a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal continued to lash the South Asian country, destroying at least 300 houses, reports said Wednesday. The overloaded wooden motorboat capsized during a sudden storm late Tuesday, drowning six women and three children who were returning home after a party in Netrakona district, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Dhaka, the private NTV network said. Another storm early Wednesday whipped up winds that flattened 300 houses and 25 shops, snapped power lines and uprooted trees in Betagi town in the southern Barguna district, the private ATN Bangla television network reported. Flying debris and collapsing houses injured at least 25 people in the town, 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of Dhaka. Most places across the country experienced heavy rainfall overnight and early Wednesday, the weather department said. More rain was expected to fall until Thursday, it said. In Dhaka, the capital, many roads were flooded with ankle-deep water, stalling cars and causing traffic snarls. Fishermen stayed close to shore in southern coastal areas because of high waves and strong winds. The bulk of the tropical depression moved toward India's eastern Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states late Tuesday. On Tuesday, winds also cut power lines and television cables in the coastal town of Cox's Bazar, 295 kilometers (185 miles) east of Dhaka.
