Baby born in storm shelter named after Cyclone Mahasen

Village elders named the youngster Mahasen after he was born early on Thursday morning at a shelter in the Patuakhali coastal district, only hours before the eponymous cyclone slammed into the seafront.

Appeasing the gods: Locals in Patuakhali district in Bangladesh named the baby boy Mahasen hoping that the gesture would protect them from the storm's wrath. Pic/AFP

"Jyuotsna Begum gave birth to the boy at Boalia Union Council cyclone shelter and villagers who were in the shelter named him Mahasen," said Mahmud Alam, the government administrator for the area. "Our health workers later attended to her and both the boy and the mother are doing fine."

Alam said that he had sent some new clothing and 2,000 taka (Rs 1,400) on Friday to the boy's father Forkan Mridha after he learnt that the cyclone had partly damaged his tin and mud-built house.

46 Number of people who have died in the storm

70,000 Number of people evacuated
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