Dhaka, May 26 -- "The EU is determined to start helping people in need with no further delay and provides an initial funding of Rs 500,000 for India and Rs 1,100,000 to support the immediate response in Bangladesh," EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said in a statement.

At least 20 people were killed when the cyclone struck the Indian state of West Bengal and Odisha on May 20 and moved into Bangladesh later in the night, devastating villages, tearing down power lines, collapsing dams and leaving large tracts of land under water.

The storm caused Tk 11 billion in damage to housing, infrastructure, fisheries and livestock, water resources and agriculture in Bangladesh, according to initial government estimates.

"My t...