New Delhi - The death toll from cyclone Aila that battered India's West Bengal state rose to 82 as authorities feared that tidal surges triggered by the storm had killed more than a dozen of the highly endangered Royal Bengal tigers, officials and reports said Wednesday.

Although the cyclone that hit coastal West Bengal and its capital Kolkata on Monday eased, heavy rains lashed the region through Tuesday, causing landslides and claiming more lives, officials in the state's emergency department said.

Local newspapers and news channels, quoting official sources, said a total of 82 people were killed as the cyclone uprooted trees, electricity poles and homes, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

The state government confirmed only 69 deaths.

"According to figures we collected, 69 people have died, but the death toll could be higher since rescue workers are reaching remote areas and bodies are still being found," BC Patra, a state relief official, said over telephone from Kolkata.

Among the worst-hit districts were the coastal South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts where 34 deaths had occurred, the reports said. Kolkata and seven other districts reported the remaining deaths.

Most of the victims were killed as houses and trees collapsed, officials said.

The cyclone claimed more lives Tuesday when it reached northern parts of the state, where heavy rain caused landslides.

Twenty-two people died in landslides in the famed Darjeeling tea district in the region since Tuesday evening, the IANS news agency reported.

The state government carried out rescue operations in the coastal Parganas districts where the cyclone and accompanying heavy rains submerged large swathes of land.

The estuarine Sunderbans region is part of the districts, where several delta islands had been inundated.

"Operations to rescue marooned people in the affected areas are in full swing as the weather has cleared up since the cyclone weakened," Patra said.

A total of 3.8 million people have been affected by the cyclone in West Bengal as thousands were left homeless since over 185,000 homes were destroyed in the storm.

At least 200 Indian Army soldiers had been deployed to assist in relief operations, with the army also air dropping food packets in the affected districts.

A report in the Times of India daily said forest wardens in Sunderbans - home to one of the world's largest tiger populations - reported more than 12 Royal Bengal tigers might have been killed as the cyclone tore through the forests.

Twenty crocodiles and two spotted deer were found dead in the Sunderbans. The report said the full extent of damage will be known only after an assessment by forest teams. According to the last government survey, Sunderbans had a total of 265 tigers.(dpa)