By DPA,

Yangon : A powerful cyclone hit Myanmar, killing at least 243 people and destroying thousands of buildings, state television reported Sunday.

Television pictures from the port city of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, showed numerous trees uprooted and houses without roofs.

Tropical cyclone Nargis hit the south of the country Saturday with wind speed of more than 200 km per hour.

Electricity and telephone lines were cut by the storm, which started in the Bay of Bengal, making communication with the former capital Yangon difficult.