New Delhi, 27 May (AKI) - Up to 200 people have been killed as Cyclone Alia swept across eastern India and Bangladesh, flooding villages and leaving millions of people homeless. Emergency teams raced to rescue survivors in the remote southwest of Bangladesh on Wednesday as the death toll from the storm rose to 180.

At least 110 people died in Bangladesh and another 6,000 were injured in the storm, said Sultanul Islam Chowdhury from the country's food and disaster management ministry.

Cyclone Alia struck the coast of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal on Monday, after a tidal surge washed away villages, roads and livestock.

Bangladesh's disaster management minister Abdur Razzak said conditions on the ground were desperate but that a major relief and rescue operation was now underway.

"We have adequate resources to ensure food, relief and rehabilitation, and we'll work for as long as it takes to reach those affected," Razzak said.

In India's West Bengal state, there were reports of 64 deaths, according to Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, the state chief secretary.

Officials in both countries said they feared the toll would continue to rise as rescue teams searched for more victims.

More than 500,000 people were moved to temporary shelters after they fled their homes to escape huge tidal waves churned by winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour.

Heavy rain triggered by the storm also raised river levels and burst mud embankments in the Sundarbans delta in West Bengal.

Cyclone Alia is reported to have swept away nearly 180,000 homes and affected the lives of more than 3.3 million people.

In India, the number of storm-related deaths climbed to 69 Wednesday, according to an emergency official.