Dhaka, May 22 (IANS): At least 24 people were killed as tropical cyclone Roanu lashed the coast of Bangladesh with heavy winds and torrential rains, also forcing the evacuation of half a million residents, authorities said.

With 55 miles-per-hour winds and downpours of more than a foot in some areas on Saturday, the cyclone hit the south and southeast regions of Barisal and Chittagong especially hard -- damaging hundreds of houses and causing landslides, according to disaster officials.

The deaths occurred in seven districts as the storm uprooted trees and destroyed houses on Saturday, bdnews24 reported.

The Met office lowered the warning to local cautionary signal number three in the evening.

The toll was highest in Chittagong. Twelve people died in the district.

The number of deaths was three each in Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar and Bhola while one each died in Feni, Patuakhali and Lakshmipur.

Vast areas of land in coastal cities were inundated and some 500,000 people were evacuated to shelters, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, minister of disaster management and relief said.

The storm disrupted power and road communications in many parts of the country, officials said.