Before we could realise, the whole village was washed away by a huge wall of water, said Abu Siddique, a councillor from Banshkhali district in Chittagong. "It came at least six hours early, giving the villagers no time to rush to cyclone shelters.Those who died were caught by a sudden rush of water, he said. "Authorities said the storm surge would be four feet high but in some places the water that hit our shore was as high as three metres".